


Monkey Business

by MaeveBran



Series: The New Job [4]
Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Stargate SG-1
Genre: F/M, Getting to Know Each Other, Het, Marriage, Ninja Lessons, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-02-25
Updated: 2007-11-30
Packaged: 2018-02-25 19:40:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 26
Words: 29,058
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2633822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaeveBran/pseuds/MaeveBran
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Buffy explores the archeology lab. Later, she and Daniel have coffee, and conversations...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Monkey Business

**Author's Note:**

> Buffy was waiting for Dr. Daniel Jackson in his lab because Giles had sent over some prophecies that they need his help translating. Dr. Jackson had just been cleared by Dr. Lam and General Landry to return his normal duties after the little trip to another galaxy. Vala had left and returned and he had found himself in the infirmary; he had been bored when Buffy had approached him about the translations. He'd said he'd meet her here about five minutes ago, but Buffy knew that to academic types five minutes wasn't too late. So she looked around his office.

Buffy scanned the titles on the shelves and was impressed. She may not be 'research girl' but she knew enough to know that Giles would drool in his tea over about half of this collection. She made a mental note to ask Dr. Jackson where she could find some of them for Christmas presents for Giles, Willow and even Dawn. As she continued to look, Buffy found a surprise on the farthest bookshelf in the corner. It looked like a collection of stuffed monkeys, the cuddly kind not the specimen kind. One even had a little space suit on. She was just reaching out to pick one up when a voice behind her spoke.

"I see you found the collection," Daniel said teasingly. He was carrying a small brown paper wrapped package with him as he strode over to her.

"I'm sorry, Dr. Jackson. I was admiring your book collection..." Buffy explained 

"I didn't know you had an interest in languages," Daniel said. "And it's Daniel."

"I'm not, but I have a friend who would give a lifetime's supply of tea to spend a couple hours in here," Buffy said.

"Tea? I'd consider it if it was coffee," Daniel returned.

"Giles is British and not into coffee," Buffy answered.

"I see." Daniel had been waiting for the question but since she hadn't asked he prompted, "Go ahead and ask and get it out in the open."

"Okay, Daniel. Why do you have a collection of cute stuffed monkeys in your office?" Buffy asked, genuinely curious.

"It's Sam's idea of a joke. Well, hers and Jack's," Daniel replied.

"And why would that be a joke?" Buffy inquired, smiling.

"It all started the second time they thought I had died. I managed to gate home from an exploding ship and when Jack saw me he called me Space Monkey. So Sam thought I needed a monkey in a space suit and it snowballed from there. So now every time I die, ascend, or are presumed dead the next time Sam sees me she brings another monkey." Daniel says laughing. Holding up the package, he continued, "I assume this will be the latest one, since that little adventure to the Ori Galaxy probably got to her." Daniel stepped back and started opening the package.

While Daniel was busy, Buffy quickly counted the monkeys. There were fourteen of them. Fourteen! Man, Daniel had died more times than she had, even if you dismissed half of them as times he was just presumed dead and not actually dead.

"You've died more times then I have," Buffy couldn't help saying. It was true that she had died three times. Only one of those deaths was for an extended period of time. Buffy had never thought she would meet anyone else who understood about coming back from the dead but the hunky archeologist just might.

Daniel was surprised by Buffy's outburst. "Excuse me?"

"I mean, I've died three times, but I count fourteen monkeys and you said one per death," Buffy explained.

"Oh, I've actually only died eight times. The other seven, counting this guy," Daniel said as he pulled the newest monkey from the box, "are for times I almost died or was reported dead without actually dying."

"Okay, so eight times, still beats three," Buffy said. "Maybe we should go out for coffee sometime and exchange stories." Buffy couldn't believe she was flirting with someone Daniel's age; he had to be at least forty. Dawn would approve though, forty was better than an immortal or a vampire with at least a century of undeath behind him.

Daniel was surprised by her offer; after all, she was almost half his age, but then again he hadn't met anyone else with a penchant for dying before. "Uh, yeah. We should. Sometime." He looked at his watch. "Did you have something for me to translate, or were you going to be bugging me about the collection? Because I only have a half hour left before I have to go find Vala and it sounded like you needed some discretion with the translation." 

"Uh, yeah. Here. Giles and Dawn thought it might be some form of Sumerian," Buffy said as she spread out the scroll in front of him.

"Yeah. Some form of Sumerian," Daniel murmured as he started to work.


	2. Spacey Monkey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Buffy and Daniel have coffee. Set after 9.6 "Beachhead".

Daniel looked around the coffeehouse for the petite blonde he was supposed to be meeting here. He had no idea why he had agreed to meet Buffy for coffee. She was, after all, fifteen years his junior. But then again, her off-handed treatment of the fact that she had died three times intrigued him. He wasn't so nonchalant about his own deaths, regardless of the way it had seemed when he had told her about the monkey collection. Maybe that showed a maturity beyond her years. All he knew was that he had been feeling at loose ends since Vala disappeared, and maybe getting out of the mountain would do him some good, so here he was. 

Finally, he spotted Buffy in a comfy plush chair in a back corner. There was an empty second chair next to her and he took his mocha in that direction.

"Hey, I was beginning to think you weren't coming after all," Buffy greeted him as he sat down.

"Hey." Daniel returned. "To be honest I did think about canceling."

"That's all right. I get it. I'm rather young for you. Not that this is a date, but no one else knows that. Appearances and all that jazz," Buffy summed up.

"Precisely. But I must admit your attitude a couple of weeks ago when we talked intrigued me," Daniel confessed.

"I'll bet. It took me a long while to be able to talk about it, but when you face death nightly, you have to learn to deal," Buffy explained. "So how do you want to do this? You tell me yours and I'll tell you mine?"

"Sounds good to me. So I guess I'd better start," Daniel said bashfully. "My first death was on Abydos. Jack and I were fighting Ra. I got killed and put in the sarcophagus and brought back. You do know about the sarcophagi, right?"

"Contrary to popular belief, I can read and have read the files given me. I know about the first Abydos mission, but the detail of your death was left out," Buffy replied.

"Okay. Well, the next death was when SG1 met the Nox. The whole team was killed by Apophis and the Nox brought us back to life. That was in our first year as a team," Daniel continued. "The Space Monkey thing started when we blew up Apophis's ships at the end of that year before they could attack Earth. I was mortally wounded and begged Jack to leave me behind on the first ship so I could cover him, Teal'c, Sam, and Bra'tac's exit to the other ship. They left me and I found the sarcophagus and crawled in. When I was healed, I went to the gate on the ship and gated to the Alpha Site, then home. Meanwhile, the team exited the other ship in two death gliders. When I met up with them in the gate room, Jack pulled me in to this big bear hug and called me Space Monkey. He always has some new nickname for me," Daniel said fondly.

"You don't sound like you mind too much," Buffy said encouragingly.

"Jack is, well, Jack. He can get away with it, but no one else," Daniel said to discourage her from even thinking about calling him 'Space Monkey.'

"Okay, so that's deaths one and two. How about three and four?" Buffy asked after he had finished taking a drink from his coffee.

"Three was when I got body swapped with an elderly man and the body my mind was in flat lined. Good old fashioned medicine brought me back that time." Daniel stopped when Buffy almost choked on her drink. "What?"

"You got body swapped too? Wow," Buffy said between coughs.

"I take it that doesn't sound unusual to you," Daniel said.

"I swapped bodies involuntarily with Faith during her rebellious phase, and while she was inhabiting my body she slept with my boyfriend at the time. That was a mess that took a while to straighten out," Buffy summed up.

"Sounds complicated. I'm just glad all Machello did was buy food for an entire diner. There were worse things he could have done. We eventually got swapped back and Machello died of old age minutes later." Daniel returned to his story, "Death number four was another flat line incident. There was a Goa'uld palace, like an opium den, with a beautiful light source. It altered human brain chemistry, and after a day at that palace I returned to Earth. I went into withdrawal, and the team that had been with me all died. Jack came back and with the help of Janet, the Chief Medical Officer at the time, they figured out I had to go back to the planet. On the way to the gate room I flatlined. Jack carried me through the gate, and after a bit I revived. We eventually found out how to turn down the stimulant light incrementally so as not to kill us all. It took three weeks."

"That must have been interesting," Buffy said as Daniel drank some more coffee. "What next?"

"Um. You know I was an Ascended being, right?" Daniel asked. Buffy nodded. "Well, death number five was the big one." Daniel stalled a moment. He knew he was stalling but he couldn't help it.

"So I gathered. What happened?" Buffy pushed.

"We went to Kelowna. They were experimenting with naquadria, making a bomb with it. I was watching the experiment with Jonas when it went bad. I shot the window out and jumped through after the scientists began falling down and leaving the room. I got exposed to a massive radiation dose by the time I managed to pull the core out of the bomb, but if I hadn't done it the capitol would have been destroyed. I came back to Earth and died of the radiation poisoning. Oma Desala helped me ascend as I took my last breath. I spent the next year on a higher plane of existence. After a year, it became clear that I couldn't follow the rules and I was sent back in human form." Daniel explained as quickly as possible. 

Buffy reached out and placed a comforting hand on his. He turned his head and looked into her eyes. He saw sympathy and understanding of a level he hadn't seen before.

"Finnish your story and I'll tell you the sad tale of Buffy, the slayer of Vampires. I promise you it will be at least as interesting as your story," Buffy said comfortingly.

"Death number six was a couple of months ago, and also an ascension. I was on a replicator ship and the replicator version of Sam ran me through with a sword. I went to this level between death and ascension for a while. I convinced Oma to fight Anubis and Ascended just long enough to choose to come back as a human. That was about a week before you joined the SGC."

Buffy nodded. She had heard rumors about Daniel and Anubis and the replicators. "That means you've died twice more since then."

"Sort of. We have evidence that after the fight with Anubis and the replicators that a version of SG1 went back in time to get a ZPM and got stuck there and another version went back and completed the mission and got stuck as well before returning the timeline to normal. So two versions of myself have died in Egypt in ancient times. Sam figured that those counted as well." Daniel smiled. He had completed his tale. "Your turn."

"All right, you know I was called as a Slayer at age 15, right?" Buffy asked. 

Daniel nodded. 

"That began my nightly fight with the forces of darkness. Just after my sixteenth birthday there was a prophecy that said the Master of the Order of Aurelius would kill the Slayer and go free. I tried to resign as Slayer, but my friend Willow had had to confront a slaughter in our high school so I resigned myself to my fate and fought the Master. He drank my blood until I was too weak to do anything and tossed me into a pool. I drowned and my friend Xander and Angel, the original Vampire with a soul, found me. Xander preformed CPR and revived me. I fought the Master again and killed him."

"You were sixteen?" Daniel exclaimed.

"Yep. Most Slayers are called at 15 or 16 and many don't survive their first year. I have because I had help," Buffy said. "The second death was the worst. This HellGod wanted to use my sister as a key to open an inter-dimensional portal. One of her minions had cut shallow cuts into Dawn and her dripping blood opened the portal. The only way to close it was to drain Dawn of her blood. Dawn had been mystically created from me so I figured if I flung myself into the portal my blood would close it, too. So I jumped and it closed, but it killed me." 

Buffy broke down and started to softly cry. Daniel shook himself out of the stunned silence her story had sent him into, to pull Buffy into a hug.

"You don't have to continue," Daniel said quietly.

"Yes, I do. You told your story now I tell mine," Buffy said, pulling herself together. "I was in Heaven but my friends didn't know that. They thought I might be in some dark Hell dimension so they got the Urn of Osiris and resurrected me. For months all I wanted was to get back to Heaven. It took a long time but I no longer want to die."

"Heaven, huh?" Daniel inquired.

"I think so. All I remember was feeling, safe, loved, warm, and at peace. Like my fight was over," Buffy answered. "Death number three was eight months after I was brought back. This guy was coming after me with a gun and shot me and Willow's girlfriend, Tara. Tara was killed instantly but I was rushed to the hospital and flatlined. Willow got to the hospital in time and magically removed the bullet and restarted my heart. We got home and found Tara dead by a stray bullet. I don't like guns."

"I can see why," Daniel said softly. "So how old were you when you died that time?"

"I was 21," Buffy said. "But not all of the said tale of Buffy relates to my deaths. Sometime I should tell you about my sad relationship history. I've read your file, Daniel, and mine rivals yours. Not to belittle your wife but you didn't have to run a sword through the heart of your beloved as he confessed his love for you to save the world. But that is a story for another day. I have to do a patrol before going back to the base."

Daniel watched her stride out of the coffeehouse to do the patrol. He was dumbfounded both by her story and the story she alluded to before leaving. He was definitely going to have to have coffee with Buffy again. She may be almost young enough to be his daughter but she had had enough shit happen to her to bring an almost unheard of maturity.


	3. Monkey Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Buffy and Daniel have a late night talk. Set after 9.8 "Babylon".

Buffy walked out of the infirmary a little after 3 am, intending to head to the surface for a quick patrol before heading home. Not that a patrol was needed, Colorado Springs had almost no demons to worry about. The local demon population was basically just Clem, and he only lived there to take care of Buffy's house when she was off world for an extended time. Willow and Dawn had wanted to send either a newly trained watcher or another slayer but Buffy wouldn't hear of it. Clem as her housekeeper was as close to a compromise as Buffy would come. 

Buffy swung by level 18 on her way to the surface and sure enough Daniel was still in his lab. She had hoped that with Lt. Col. Cameron Mitchell's return from the Sodan, Daniel would return to actually sleeping before he passed out from exhaustion but apparently Daniel liked the infirmary. 

Buffy knocked on the door and the archeologist looked up, a smile lighting up his face. "Hey Buffy. What are you still doing here?" He looked at the clock, "At 3 AM? Wow. I guess I shouldn't be talking about still being here."

"I'm on my way to do a quick patrol and then home. But then I saw your light and had to come by and see if you've even left the Mountain at all in the last week." Buffy teased.

"Um. I was home for a day I think but then this storm system moved in and I lost power so I came back to base. " Daniel replied. "I guess I should go check on my apartment and make sure nothing has over grown the fridge." He joked as he marked his place and started the shutdown process on his computer. "How about you?" 

"Clem will have everything under control." Buffy said smugly, knowing she had a very good deal going. For the price of some junk food with every grocery order and turning a blind eye to kitten poker, Buffy never had to worry about her utilities being shut off, mail piling up or weird stuff trying to grow out of the fridge and take over the neighborhood if she was gone more than a few days. Clem took care of everything including making sure the remaining Scoobies never worried too much about her.

"Clem? Buffy do you have a new boyfriend?" Daniel teased. He was a little hurt by the idea but thought Buffy should have some one in her life.

"Are you kidding?! No Daniel. Clem is a demon. He is a compromise with Dawn and Willow. They wanted someone here to report on me if I got in trouble and I didn't think that was necessary. Clem is mostly harmless except his penchant for playing Poker for kittens to eat." Buffy explained as they walked out of Daniel's lab. 

Daniel turned and locked the door before answering. "Um ok. You do have the most unusual friends."

"Hello, who is the one friendly enough with the Asgard to have the flagship named after him?" Buffy teased back. "Not that I've met Thor but I have seen the file pictures. Trust me Clem is as unusual as Thor."

They rode up to the surface in silence. Each contemplating the strange friendship they had going. It was sort of like siblings and sort of flirty and sort of something else. What ever it was they were comfortable with it.

They step out into driving rain when they reached the surface. Buffy took one look at the rain and turned around. "So much for that idea. I think I'll just stay in my quarters on base tonight." Buffy walked back to the first elevator. Apparently Daniel had come to a similar conclusion.

"I'm not driving out in that. I couldn't see a thing." Daniel said as he joined her in the elevator. Buffy gave him an odd look. "I may have lived in Colorado for the last eight plus years but I'm still a desert dweller at heart. That much rain makes me nervous and I'm not willing to brave it at this hour of the morning only to have to face it again six hours later."

"I'm a Southern California girl, so I so totally get what you're saying." Buffy agreed as they signed back in at the 16th floor and changed elevators. "So want to grab a cup of coffee and talk for a bit? I'm too keyed up to sleep just yet."

"Sure but the commissary is closed." Daniel said.

"Don't worry Willow sent me a stash of Columbian coffee from her recent trip down there to check on the South American Slayer. I can brew us up a pot of the best coffee you've ever had in about five minutes. If you'll brave my quarters." Buffy invited.

Daniel shifted uncomfortably until they reached level 20 where he had to decide. "Sure. That sounds nice."

Daniel fallowed Buffy to her quarters and entered quickly so as to avoid catching anyone's attention. Not that he thought he was doing anything wrong, just some personnel might not let him live down the fact that he was entering the quarters of a young woman who was almost young enough to be his daughter at 3AM.

Buffy was oblivious to Daniel's discomfort and proceeded to make coffee. When the coffee maker was happily percolating she turn to face Daniel. He was still standing just inside the door apparently taking in the decor. It was part girlly girl and part Medieval armory with a prominent cross theme.

"Please make yourself comfortable." Buffy said as she gestured to the pair of comfy standard issue box like stuffed chairs that flanked a small table. They looked like rejects from a college dorm lobby. But the thing that made Daniel uncomfortable was that each was strewn with discarded clothes. One even had a bra hanging off of it. Buffy noticed the clothes and quickly gathered them up and tossed them into a pile beside the bed. "Sorry, I've only been here long enough to sleep between the last three missions."

Daniel nodded absently as he sat in one of the newly cleared chairs. He was starting to regret agreeing to have coffee with Buffy. Then he remembered their last conversation and asked the question he'd been pondering for weeks, "So Buffy, last time we talked you alluded to a sad relationship history?"

Buffy had sort of been expecting this. She knew he wouldn't beat around the bush when asking. "Yes I did." The coffee had finished so she poured herself a cup and stirred in some sugar and set it by the other chair before getting Daniel a cup too. She brought it to him and sat down before answering his question. "How much do you know about Angel/Angelus?"

"Not much. The material the Watchers sent over mentioned he was petty much out of the picture. " Daniel said slightly puzzled why Buffy was asking about his knowledge of the Vampire with a soul.

"The first week I was in Sunnydale, I met a mysterious man who silently helped me out. I thought he was just a college student or something but he turned out to be Angel. He had been one of the worst vampires until a hundred years before when he fed on the wrong Gypsy girl and had been cursed with a soul. He had the weight of all the horrible crimes he committed suddenly come crashing down on him. Just before I was called, he had finally decided to quit wallowing in guilt and help fight his brothers and sisters. He came to Sunnydale to help. By the time I knew that he was a vampire I had fallen for him and he for me. We started dating at the end of my sophomore year." Buffy paused to drink some more coffee.

"What happened? I assume that the relationship between a Slayer and Vampire, even one with a soul, could not be easy." Daniel said since he felt Buffy was waiting for some reaction.

"Well one of Angel's childe named Druscilla and her childe Spike came to town. They were assembling this uber bad guy called the Judge. The kind of bad guy with legends about no weapon forged would stop him." Buffy said ruefully.

"I think I've run into a few of those myself." Daniel agreed.

"I'll bet you have. Well anyway it was my seventeenth birthday. Let's just say Angel's curse had a codicil that he didn't know about. The Gypsies had wanted revenge so if Angel ever knew perfect happiness," Buffy made the air quotes around perfect happiness for emphasis, "He would lose his soul." Buffy drank some more of her coffee.

Daniel looked at Buffy. Her face was flaming and she wasn't meeting his gaze. That had to indicate just what she was talking about. "I take it he experienced perfect happiness?"

"Yep." She looked up. "I should be over the embarrassment about it. After all the entire demon world knows that the first time I had sex I turned my boyfriend in to the worst monster the world has known. But unfortunately telling this story never gets easier."

Daniel was stunned. He had sort of drawn some conclusions but she mad sure there were no ambiguities. "He reverted to Angelus I take it."

"Yep. Killed Willow's fish. Stalked me leaving disturbing drawings. Killed Giles's girlfriend because she was trying to re-restore his soul. Then he was starting to wake the demon Acathla, who would suck the world into Hell. About this time Willow had started to dabble in magic and she found Jenny's notes on restoring Angel's soul. I went to go stop Angelus and Willow tied to restore his soul. Only it didn't work the first time. Angelus had started the process and the portal to Hell was open and starting to expand. The only way to stop it was to run Angelus though with this specific sword and stick it into the Acathla statue. Just as I was about to skewer Angelus Willow succeeded. Angel was back. He said he loved me. I kissed him. Told him I loved him and had him close his eyes. Then I stabbed him through the heart and pinned him to the statue. Both he and the statue got sucked into Hell and the world was safe. The world almost ended because I feel in love." Buffy finished off her coffee.

"I don't know what to say. I know what it is to be facing the one you love as they try to kill you, but to have to kill them before they destroy the world? I am sorry." Daniel said as he too finished his coffee. He got up and took her mug with his over to the shelf by the coffeemaker. Daniel returned and sat on the arm of her chair. "So what happened then? The files I read said that Angel died in a fight in Los Angeles a year and a half ago."

Buffy looked up and saw the understanding in his eyes and turned to sit sideways in the chair. "He for some reason was returned from that Hell a few months later. Only the dimension had had a hundred or more years pass in that time. Angel was just a step from being an insensible beast from all the suffering. I nursed him back to health and tried to fight my love for him. He tried to fight his love too. We tried to convince everyone, including ourselves, that we were just friends. But in the words of Spike, 'You're not friends. You'll never be friends. You'll be in love till it kills you both. You'll fight, and you'll shag, and you'll hate each other till it makes you quiver but you'll never be just friends.' and he was right. In the end Angel left and went to Los Angeles. He continued his fight against evil. I did see him a few more times. Most notably right after I was ripped out of Heaven and right before the final fight in Sunnydale. But Angel is just the surface of the joke that is my love life."

Daniel shook his head. "You've had a lot to bare for one so young."

"It's not the age but the mileage, Daniel." Buffy said half jokingly. "So tell me, what was your most traumatic relationship?"

Daniel moved back to his seat before starting in on his tale. "You know I married an Abydonian named Sha're?" Buffy nodded. "Well she was abducted by Apophis and made his queen, Amaunet. I joined the SGC to find her and I did. One Abydonian year to the day. That's fourteen months here on Earth. When I found her she was back on Abydos to hide because she was pregnant with Apophis's child, a Harcesis. The Harcesis carries all the knowledge of the Goa'uld parents because of genetic memory so they are hunted relentlessly by other Goa'uld."

"Hence the hiding. I get it." Buffy said to redirect his attention back to the story. "So what happened as I don't see you with a step child running around."

"Teal'c and I were going to bring Sha're back here since as long as the baby hadn't been born the Goa'uld was dormant. I had a day with my wife before she went into labor and I had to deliver her child as the Gao'uld regained control. Teal'c and I hid the child. A year later, Amaunet found the boy and hid him away herself. She had captured her father and some other Abydonians and SG1 went to rescue them. I saw Amaunet and ran towards her. She had me in the grip of the Gao'uld hand device, which has a mental component so Sha're sent me a message as to where to find the boy. We found him but he was in the care of Oma Desala. She was much better able to care for him so I left him there. He has apparently Ascended. I saw him a year later but not after that. Anyway, Amaunet was about to kill me when Teal'c entered the tent and shot her with a staff weapon to save my life but kill her." Daniel concluded. 

Buffy moved to sit behind him on the back of the chair. She placed a hand on his shoulder and rubbed soothingly. Daniel had always impressed her but now hearing no animosity in his voice over Teal'c killing his wife increased the respect even more. 

Daniel stood and said, "As nice as this has been, I must get some sleep or I won't be coherent in the briefing in the morning." Daniel quickly left and Buffy went to bed.


	4. Monkey Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Buffy distracts Daniel from his brooding. Set after 9.9 "Prototype".

Buffy walked into Daniel's lab without knocking. She knew if given a choice he would avoid her but she wasn't going to let him. Daniel had to be dealing with killing Khalek. Buffy knew what that was like.

"So Daniel, how ya doing?" Buffy opened with as she moved to sit across the counter from where he was pretending to work.

"I'm fine." he said to avoid the conversation. 

Buffy wasn’t buying it. "Don't give me that crap. This is Buffy, the girl who has battled the forces of darkness for the last eleven years. I've seen my friends fight battles they weren't prepared for and had to deal with the aftermath. Hell, my high school graduation turned into a giant battle with a large part of the class dying before getting their diplomas. I know what killing does to a person. Yes, until I joined the SGC I never killed a human but some of the Vampires I staked were once friends of mine. I told you about Angel so do me the favor of being honest."

Daniel had put down his pencil and closed his books as Buffy had started to speak, but his attention snapped fully to her at the mention of her graduation. “Alright, Buffy. I'm not all right. Yes, I've killed before. Mostly it was in the middle of a firefight and I wasn't looking directly at the opponent. But there was this one time that I slaughtered a tank full of Goa'uld symbiotes. But this shouldn't have happened."

"Bad things should never happen but they do." Buffy agreed.

"I hate that I had to be the one to kill Khalek but that is far better than having another Anubis on our hands. You weren't around for him but he was as bad as they come. The only reason he isn't around anymore is because Omar Desala decided to rectify her mistake and fight him forever. I doubt that if Khalek Ascended that another Ancient would chose that course and then we'd be facing both the Ori and another Anubis. That I couldn't allow. Me having nightmares and guilt I can live with. I might not be fine now but I will be." Daniel continued.

"Good. I just wanted to make sure." Buffy gave him her brightest smile. 

"So what have you been up to?" Daniel asked.

"The usual, scouting planets that have been converted by the Ori. Oh there was a small nest of really dumb vampires that I slew last week." Buffy said bored. "I mean they had none of the flair of Angelus or Druscilla or even Spike before he got his soul back. They may have been evil but they did it with style."

"What do you mean?" Daniel asked morbidly curious.

"Well, when Angelus killed Jenny, he left her in Giles's bed with opera playing rose petals strewn on the floor and champagne chilling in a bucket. Spike had grand plans that sometimes he got too impatient for but he had them. Druscilla was just plain crazy, taking orders from her doll, Miss Edith. The Scourge of Europe, as they and Angelus's sire, Darla, became known as, were vicious but they were never sloppy." Buffy said somewhat wistfully. 

"You are disturbed, Buffy." Daniel said not knowing weather or not to take her seriously.

"I know but after fighting more or less nightly for eleven years you either got to laugh or get hard and bitter." Buffy said sort of joking but then got serious. "Daniel, I've led an army of teenage girls against an overwhelming army of ubervamps and survived. Many of the potentials didn't. I watched as Spike used the amulet to channel the power of the sun to wipe out that enemy army even though the sunlight would turn him to dust. He did it to save me and the junior slayers. As I escaped that cavern I saw him turn to dust with the enemy. Believe me I don't take the fight lightly but at a certain point you have to joke or brake. I chose to be strong like my gift."

Daniel thought about that. He remembered all the times Jack had started joking banter on the way back to the gate after a fire fight. Mitchell seemed to do so as well. It might be something that was unconsciously taught to him because Daniel remembered joining in. "I get that. I just . . . I don't know. Guess it surprised me that one so young would be wise in the ways of warriors."

"I may be young but I've been fighting a while. When did you join this fight?" Buffy asked as a subtle reminder that she had fought longer.

"Nine and half years ago as you well know. I concede the point. I will not bottle it up and become bitter." Daniel said in defeat.

"Good man." Buffy agreed. She stood up and walked around the lab looking at the walls. She spied the wooden practice swords on the wall. "May I?" she asked indicating that she wanted to take one down.

Daniel was reluctant but saw the look of reverence on her face so he nodded his assent. Buffy took down one sword and pulled it down. She handled it with care and started to move as if she were performing a kata. Daniel started to panic, "Buffy be careful. That is a . . . "

"An eighteenth century Samurai training sword. I know Giles made me learn all sorts of weapons in high school. You've seen my weapons wall here on base, including the Scythe of Slayer ness. Let me tell you that is only part of my collection. I may not be very good with guns but I can handle a bladed weapon like nobody's business." Buffy told him. "Don't believe me? Come to the gym with me and bring the other one and I'll show you."

"What? Now? It's like one a.m." Daniel asked.

"The perfect time. What? I'm a Slayer. We do our best fighting between sundown and sunup." Buffy explained. Daniel thought about what she had said for a minute before lifting down the matching sword and silently leading the way to the gym.

The good thing about doing this at one in the morning was that no one would be a round to watch, Daniel thought. This had to be the craziest thing he'd done in a long while. Well except for having coffee in Buffy's quarters at three am last week. Even that was tame compared to the idea of training in any form of fighting in the middle of the night. He did admit to liking having some one else on base who enjoyed being awake and functioning in the wee hours in the morning.

When they reached the gym, Buffy immediately reverently set the sword on a bench and started stretching. After a few minutes, she stopped, picked up the sword and walked to the center of the mat. Buffy started in an elegant solo kata with the sword. Daniel had sat on the bench, holding his sword across his lap, and watched. She moved with a grace and elegance that Daniel hadn't seen in combat before. He had seen Lt. Col. Samantha Carter fight hand to hand but that was modern combat that had more in common with dirty street fighting than with ballet. What Buffy was doing was like ballet with a sword.

"Daniel, don't just sit there. Come on stretch a little, then join me out here." Buffy said to interrupt his thoughts. She paused what she was doing to ostensibly make sure he did as requested, but in reality she was enjoying the view. Daniel took of the jacket of his base uniform to reveal nicely muscled arms. That surprised he because she had thought him an academic like Giles but here he was rivaling Angel in muscles. Then as he started to stretch the pants pulled taught revealing a nicely shaped bum. Buffy took another moment to appreciate the archeologist’s form before bringing her mind back to the lesson she was going to teach. She had thought this would be an easy and purely fun exercise but now she figured it might be more in line with training with Angel her senior year in high school- equal parts training and frustrated sexual tension.

"All right, Buffy, what do I do?' Daniel asked returning Buffy to reality.

Buffy showed him the basic stance and a few moves. They practiced for over an hour before Daniel started yawning. They agreed to continue some other time and each left the gym. Buffy was secretly please to have found something she could teach Daniel and spend more time in his company.

Daniel took the swords back to his office. He was surprised to find himself looking forward to the next session. Buffy had promised to bring her own practice swords so that they didn't have to use his antiques. Out of deference to the value of the artifacts they had been using, Buffy had only showed him the moves to make and they hadn't actually sparred. Daniel was looking forward to next time.


	5. Monkey See

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Buffy and Daniel continue their sword lessons. Set after "Ripple Effect" 9.13. (Also written for the Ninja Daniel challenge that Michael Shanks has issued at several conventions.)

Daniel was in an unusual position. He was currently straddling Buffy's hips while holding a wooden practice sword to her throat. He had been taking what he secretly called 'Ninja Lessons' from Buffy for a couple weeks now. He knew she was surprised at the speed he had been learning his lessons, but wasn't, not really. He had after all been learning hand to hand combat from his Air Force teammates and Teal'c for the last eight years. He knew that wasn't enough but at least there was foundation training for what Buffy was teaching him. But Daniel's thoughts returned to the position he was presently in. He knew he should just get up and help Buffy to her feet but Daniel didn't.

"Very good, Dr. Jackson." Buffy said with a joking lilt in her voice on his title. She was enjoying the position she found herself in. This was definitely as much fun, or more so, as training with Angel. Buffy held no illusions about Daniel wanting her but still she was enjoying the risqué positions she found herself in when sparring with him. She knew it had been too long since she had had something resembling a love life.

"Thank you." Daniel said as he finally moved off of Buffy. 

She let him get to his feet but when he gentlemanly extended a hand to her she surprised him by pulling him off balance. There was a flurry of movement and suddenly their positions were reversed with Buffy on top. Daniel seemed confused as to what had occurred.

"How many times have I told you to not let your guard down?" Buffy leaned over him as she moved her wooden sword to lay beside his jaw. "I know that you've fought beside Lt. Col. Carter for the better part of a decade so you can't still think we mere females need protecting. Chivalrous behavior does not belong in battle or on the practice floor. Use your advan- ..." Buffy's impromptu lecture was interrupted by Daniel suddenly twisting and shifting his weight. Before Buffy could finish the word, it was she who was on her back. "...tage. "

"You mean like that?" Daniel grinned down at her. This had to stop, he thought. He was enjoying this far too much. It had been far too long since he had had a woman. That had to be the source of these thoughts and feelings he reasoned. It didn't help that Buffy was writhing beneath him. He assumed that it was in preparation for flipping him so he braced for it but then the writhing stopped and he let down his guard. Buffy chose that moment to act. This time though she didn't flip him, just knocked him to the side and sprang gracefully to her feet. 

Buffy walked swiftly to the bench that held their towels and water. Placing her sword on the bench, she wiped her face and drank some water while keeping her back to Daniel so he didn't see her embarrassment. "Stupid hormonal slayer." she muttered under her breath.

Daniel got to his feet and walked over to the bench and likewise laid down his sword before gulping down his water. These 'Ninja Lessons' were typically only an hour or so long but quite intensive, especially for one am. Finished with his water, Daniel set down the empty bottle, wiped his face and neck with his towel before turning to Buffy. She still had her back to him so he assumed she was embarrassed about something.

"Buffy, have I done something to upset you?" Daniel asked hesitantly. He thought he knew what might be the matter. He hoped he hadn't offended her in any way, but he was male after all and she was a beautiful woman.

"No, Daniel. You haven't done anything. I think it might be best if we don't continue these lessons. You know enough to use the swords in your office if you need to. It's not like you're going to be called to use a sword on a mission." Buffy stammered.

Daniel tentatively reached out a hand to her shoulder and gently turned her to face him. "Buffy, is this because of the way we ended up. just now?" He had to know if he had offended her. She had seemed to be almost aroused by their last fight and he needed to know if he read her right before he did something stupid like make a pass at her.

"Maybe a little. When Faith first showed up in Sunnydale, she publicly claimed that slaying made her hungry and horny. Over the years, I've come to find that to be true. It has been several years since I've had a boyfriend. Add to that the fact that you are an extremely attractive man and ... Well you get the idea." Buffy confessed.

"I get your drift." Daniel said before clearing his throat. "Now it is my turn to confess. I seem to be having a similar problem. So what are we going to do about it?"

"I don't know. But I need a shower before I do anything else." Buffy said as she gathered up her things. Then she realized what she had said, "Not that that was an invitation. Not that I wouldn't. Sometime in the future but for now I think it best to ..." 

"That's ok, Buffy. I didn't think it was. Not that I wouldn't ... But I agree we need to talk seriously before doing anything else." Daniel agreed as he gathered his things. "So do you want to meet me in my lab in a half hour?"

"Sure." Buffy agreed, glad that they were still going to have their post lesson wind down cup of decaf regardless of their newly admitted desires.


	6. Monkey Do

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Buffy and Daniel have their post lesson conversation. (Warning for discussion of past non-consensual sexual situations.)

Daniel hurried through his shower in the locker room, knowing Buffy would go to her quarters. It was what they always did. Daniel decided not to put on a clean base uniform though and instead dressed in old comfortable jeans and a navy blue short-sleeved tee shirt. It was, after all, two a.m. and he wasn't on duty, he reasoned. 

When he arrived at his office he started the decaf coffee. It had become their little ritual, to have a lesson and then talk over their separate missions over coffee until the adrenaline of fighting wore off, but after neither had been able to sleep after the first time, they had agreed that they should switch to decaf if they were just hanging out and having coffee after midnight. Daniel usually thought decaf was a bad thing and generally avoided it, but with Buffy it was different. For some reason after a 'Ninja Lesson', decaf with Buffy was a treat.

Buffy arrived looking fresh and cute in plaid flannel pants and a tee shirt that Daniel suspected were actually a pajama set... and that didn't bear thinking about right now. The coffee finished brewing as she sat down on her usual stool at the counter of his lab. He poured the coffee and stirred sugar into both cups, handed her her cup, and sat down on the stool across the counter from her. He told himself that that was where he always sat so he wasn't avoiding her.

They sipped in silence for a few minutes. Neither was sure what to say, but were still comfortable in the presence of the other. That in itself should have been a clue as to where this should go, but neither was very good at paying any attention to clues dropped in their paths.

"So how long has it been?" Buffy inquired, breaking the silence.

"Been since what?" Daniel asked, not really sure what she was asking.

"You said you were in a similar position right after I confessed to it having been a while since I've had anything resembling a love life. So how long has it been?" Buffy asked brazenly.

"You heard about Hathor?" Daniel asked, not really sure how to answer. 

Buffy nodded. It was one of the more infamous events in SGC history, at least among the ladies. The other women would occasionally make allusions to the time the women of the base under the command of then Captain Samantha Carter and with the help of Teal'c had stopped a Goa'uld Queen. The ladies would usually remind the new recruits not to underestimate anyone at the SGC because you never knew who might be called on to save the planet.

"I heard about how she drugged all the men to do her bidding and that the women saved the day. But what does that have to do with what I asked?" Buffy said, puzzled.

"She chose me to be her 'beloved' and to contribute 'the code of life' for her new children. Yes, she had me drugged and I was susceptible to her suggestions, but I still went along with it. She was the goddess of fertility, inebriety, and music for a reason. The thing I felt guiltiest about was that I enjoyed it, not just the fact that she made me betray Sha're but that she made me enjoy doing so. It was in the first year of the SGC." Daniel looked down into his coffee cup. "Does that make me perverted?"

"As perverted as I am for trusting the vampire who tried to rape me," Buffy said quietly. 

Daniel's head snapped up and he looked her in the eyes. "Angel?" he asked.

"Nope. Spike," Buffy answered. "I told you about my return from Heaven, but I didn't tell you about my self destructive tendencies. Spike was Angel's grandchilde and had developed 'feelings' for me my fourth year in Sunnydale. He had no soul, but the Initiative, the rogue NID military group in Sunnydale, had implanted him with a chip that wouldn't let him hurt humans. Vampires wouldn't take him in since he couldn't feed and he needed violence. He found out he could kill other demons so he fought beside me. He became my sister's favorite babysitter while I was dead. When I came back everyone thought I had been returned from Hell and I couldn't tell them otherwise... but I could tell Spike. 

"Somehow the only thing I could feel then was lust and shame and Spike gave me both. I'd start out saying no, but would let him persuade me around to yes. For months we secretly went at it like bunnies, but then I realized I couldn't treat him like a thing to be used and broke it off. A few weeks later, after trying to understand why and not being able to, Spike met me in my bathroom and tried to convince me but I kept saying no and he got violent. I managed to throw him off me and he left... all the way to Africa to seek his soul in the underworld. When he came back he was crazy with the guilt of more than a century of murder and mayhem. He got straightened out mentally before the end of Sunnydale. In the last few days before the final fight tensions were high and my friends turned on me, but Spike didn't. I trusted him by my side in that fight even after all he had done." Buffy drained her coffee. "Enough about me. So besides Hathor, how long has it been?"

"Sha're, before her abduction," Daniel said simply.

Buffy saw the sadness in his eyes. She hopped off of her stool and came over to him. She set a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked."

"No. It's all right. Eight years is a long time. Now you've been warned, " he said, tying to inject some levity into the conversation.

"Wow. I thought two years was a long time," Buffy laughed.

Daniel sat down his now empty coffee cup. He reached up to her hand still on his shoulder and caressed her fingers with his own. Then he moved on to her wrist before turning on his stool to face her. He playfully pulled her to stand between his legs. "Yes, it is a long time. So do you have any suggestions?"

"I can think of a few," Buffy teased as she moved the hand he wasn't holding to cup his cheek. 

Daniel leaned into her touch, enjoying the feeling. After a moment, he moved into capture her mouth with his. The kiss was sweet and tender; Daniel didn't want to scare her and she was enjoying it too much to rush things. Soon Daniel backed off enough so that they could breathe, but still kept their lips just an inch away.

"Wow. Is there anything you don't do well?" Buffy asked in a whisper.

"I was going to ask you the same thing," Daniel replied. He ran a hand up and down her arm in a gentle caress. She shivered lightly. "Cold?"

"No," Buffy said softly as she leaned into him again. "I want you."

"I want you too. So ...?" Daniel replied, letting Buffy make the decision for them both.

"Take me to your quarters," Buffy said against his lips. 

Daniel leaned the few millimeters between them and kissed her before backing off to lead her to his quarters. It was a good thing that his quarters were just down the hall from his lab. They ran into no one in the halls, not that either really cared about being seen just then, but they knew if anyone saw they would hear about it tomorrow. 

When they reached the door he fumbled with his card key but eventually got it right. He pushed open the door and stepped aside to let Buffy in. As soon as the door swung shut behind her, Buffy jumped Daniel, wrapping her legs around his waist, her arms around his neck, and gluing her lips to his. Daniel staggered a bit but managed to remain upright until the backs of his legs contacted the bed. Then he fell backwards, taking Buffy with him. 

Buffy pulled back to let Daniel actually breathe and looked at his face. Daniel seemed surprised to find that he was lying on his bed with a laughing woman lying on top of him. But soon a grin spread across his face as he sucked in air. 

Daniel leaned up to kiss her again as he regained his breath. He reached around her and tugged at her shirt, but as he was unwilling to break the kiss all he managed to do was reveal her ribcage to his hands. He gently ran his fingertips up and down the soft flesh until Buffy pulled away, giggling.

"There are easier ways get me to take of my shirt," Buffy teased as she pulled the garment off and tossed it on the floor. "All you had to do was ask."

Daniel sat up and removed his own tee shirt. "Where's the fun in that?" he asked as his shirt landed beside hers. Then he scooted around to the side of the bed and removed his boots and socks. 

Buffy moved to stand between his legs and ran her hands over his now bare chest. "Why, Dr. Jackson, have you been working out?" she asked playfully.

"Yes, I have, Miss Summers. Like what you see?" He teased back as he leaned in to recapture her lips.

"Oh yes," she murmured against his lips before deepening the kiss. Her tongue insistently sought his and he responded in kind. 

Soon they were back to lying sprawled on the bed with Buffy once more on top. She toed her slippers off without breaking the kiss. Daniels hands were constantly in motion on her back and down under her pants. Buffy took the hint without comment and stood up and removed her pants, revealing a skimpy pair of bikini briefs.

Daniel took the opportunity to remove his jeans. The sight of Buffy in nothing but those briefs made sure that Daniel was painfully ready for the next step, but he wasn't going to push her past her comfort zone. "Buffy, are you sure about this? I won't push you past what you want..."

Buffy silenced him in the most effective manner, with her lips on his. Then she whispered against his lips, "Does it feel like I want to stop? For that matter do you really think you could make me do anything I don't want to?"

Daniel let the tiny part of his rational brain still functioning digest that for a bit. "I don't suppose I could make you do anything."

"Good. Now stop talking," Buffy commanded as she once again took a hold of his lips with hers.

* * *

When consciousness returned, Daniel found himself diagonally on his bed with Buffy's blonde head pillowed on his shoulder. He sighed in contentment. It wasn't just the sex, he thought, because if he had really wanted to he could have had someone long before now. It was that it was with Buffy, someone he really cared about. He sighed, adjusted Buffy's head more comfortably on his shoulder and kissed the top of her head before drifting off into peaceful sleep.

Buffy woke awhile later to find her cheek in a pool of drool on nicely toned skin. Male skin at that. She looked up to the face that belonged to the skin and found that in his sleep Daniel almost looked boyishly innocent. She moved cautiously so as not to disturb him, and crawled out from under his arm. She was not quite stealthy enough because she woke him anyway.

"Um. Not sure what to say," Daniel said sleepily.

"How about, wow?" Buffy suggested. "Wait a second, you mean to tell me that you who speak what, twenty-five languages, can't think of a single word?"

"It's twenty-six languages counting Ancient. And no, there aren't words to describe how incredible that was in any of them," Daniel said as he kissed her forehead. "How about we scoot under the covers and get some sleep?"

"Sure," Buffy answered as she leaned up and kissed him. 

They turned around and crawled under the covers. Daniel moved his arm straight out and Buffy took the invitation. She sprawled on his chest half laying on top of him and sighed contentedly before falling back asleep. Daniel watched her sleep for a few minutes before drifting off to dreamland himself.


	7. Monkey-ing Around

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Buffy and Daniel have a talk about the night before.

Daniel woke with an unfamiliar weight on his chest. He opened his eyes and saw a blonde head pillowed there. Then the memories of the previous night entered his mind, and he smiled. 

He tried to withdraw his arm, which was going numb, without waking Buffy. Apparently, however, the Slayer slept lightly because he had barely moved when she awoke.

"Hi, Daniel," Buffy said sleepily as she looked up to meet his gaze. _He is even sexy when he wakes up_ , she thought.

"Good morning, Buffy," he replied as he sat up. "I suppose we should talk, but I don't know what to say."

"Same here," Buffy said as she clutched the sheet to her chest and moved to gather her clothes. When she had finished dressing she turned and found him clad only in his underwear and pulling on a pair of BDU pants. 

"Daniel..." she started to say, fighting the distraction he presented in his current state of undress.

"Yes?" He turned to face her.

"Can ask you a very personal question?" Buffy asked, fighting back a blush.

"This sounds serious, but go ahead," Daniel replied, not sure he really wanted to answer whatever the question might be but figuring she deserved an honest answer.

"Why me? After all this time since your wife, why me?" Buffy inquired, curiously.

Daniel quickly put his black tee shirt on, then sat down on the bed and took a deep breath before answering. "Mostly it was just timing. After Sha're, I didn't want to get hurt again. Eventually, I started to date Janet, but she got killed before we did much more than hold hands. After that I gave up, figuring any woman I dated would die or become a host so I would not place anyone else in danger." 

Buffy moved to sit beside him and put an arm around him. "Janet. Wait, wasn't she on one of the teams that got misdirected here?"

"Yep. That team was the luckiest SG-1. Janet was alive. Sam was married and on maternity leave. Martouf was alive. And luckiest of all was that Daniel. That team was in desert BDU's because they had just come from Abydos. Not only was Abydos still around, but that Daniel had managed to save his Sha're. That team managed everything I hadn't," Daniel said on the verge of tears.

After Daniel pulled himself together, a few moments later, Buffy got up and started to pace. "Weirdly enough, I know how you feel," she said.

"You do? How?" Daniel asked as he watched her make circuits of his room.

"When I returned from Heaven, I started to have these dreams that felt more like memories. They were of a day spent with Angel," Buffy started to explain with tears shining in her eyes.

"A day? Isn't, I mean wasn't he a vampire?" Daniel interjected.

"Exactly. Except that there was this demon that healed him and made him human. Apparently we had a day together. In the dream memories, I remember listening and marveling at his beating heart. When I met with Angel after my return, I asked about the dreams. He said we had had that day but he had asked the PTBs to take it back," Buffy continued.

"Why would he do that? Who or what are the PTBs?" Daniel asked, confused.

"The Powers That Be. In the original timeline he tried to help me fight the demon again and almost got us both killed, apparently. So he realized he wouldn't be able as a mere mortal to sit by the sidelines as I fought and that he still had a lot to make up for. So he went to the PTBs and had them take back the day. The whole twenty-four hours were erased and only Angel could remember them. It was his burden to bear alone until I got ripped out of Heaven with the memory of a perfect day that doesn't exist. It's not the same, I know, but still, according to Sam there is an alternate reality out there with a Buffy and a human Angel." Buffy stopped talking and faced Daniel. He looked stunned at this latest revelation on her part.

Daniel didn't know what to say. Buffy's life really did parallel his in many ways. He had finally found someone who understood his deepest pains because she had had similar tragedies in her life. 

"I'm sorry, Buffy. I don't know what to say," he finally said. 

"There is not much to say." Buffy looked at the clock on the nightstand and noted the time. "Sorry, Daniel, but I've got to run if I'm going to get dressed in time for my 0900 briefing. But I'll see you tonight? Or are you going offworld?"

"I'll be here. SG1 isn't scheduled to be off world till next week," Daniel answered as he walked towards her. When he reached her, he leaned down and kissed her lightly. "See you tonight."

"Yeah, see you tonight." Buffy returned as she slipped out of his quarters and raced towards her own.

* * *

Daniel was in his lab trying to work but the later it got the worse his concentration became. He kept glancing at the clock and counting down the hours and minutes until Buffy would come for their Ninja lesson. He really enjoyed her company, not just her body. Not that he hadn't enjoyed that last night, but with Buffy he enjoyed the whole package. He respected her and her opinions. He didn't doubt her abilities, especially when it came to fighting. The only question was, did he love her, or were they just friends with benefits? He wasn't going to dwell on that right now. Right now he had to get to the gym for his lesson. 

The lesson went better than any of the previous ones had. If Daniel had to give a reason as to why, he'd say it was because neither one of them was as self conscious as before about where their bodies were. It was an unexpected benefit of the previous night, he thought to himself. Always before, when they were sparring he had been aware of her body position relative to his own, and had had to not make any moves that would cause her to be aware of how attractive he found her. But since they had slept together, he didn't feel the need to waste his energy hiding it any more and thereby had more to spend on defeating her. The lesson ended with him on top pinning her securely to the mat.

"Do you surrender?" he playfully asked.

"I surrender," Buffy said as she stretched her neck up and kissed his jaw. "Do you?"

Daniel took the bait. He tuned his face and captured her mouth with his briefly before replying, "I surrender."

"Good," Buffy made a sudden move and flipped them both over. "Now I've got you right where I want you," she leaned down and whispered in his ear.

"Now you've got me, what are you going to do with me?" he asked, continuing their playful banter. It felt good to be so light-hearted and teasing with someone again. Maybe his heart was finally healing after all this time.

Buffy stood and helped him to his feet. She picked up their abandoned swords, walked over to the benches, and wiped the swords with a cloth before sheathing them. 

Daniel watched with a hunger in his eyes but now that the lesson had ended he was suddenly nervous. Would she want a repeat of the night before? Had last night been a fluke? If it wasn't, where was their relationship heading? Whoa, relationship? Did they even have a relationship? 

The answers to these and other questions could only come by taking a step and seeing where it lead, so Daniel finally moved towards the benches and Buffy. He moved to stand beside her, close enough that they were almost touching but not quite so that she could make the decision.

Buffy glanced over at Daniel and saw how nervous he was. It was worse than the night before. It was almost as if he was unsure of her and weather or not she would still want him. She decided it was kind of nice to have a boyfriend who didn't take her and her consent for granted. Whoa, boyfriend? Was that what he was? She wasn't sure, but it sounded nice. She realized he wasn't going to make any further moves, so she took matters into her own hands and reached out and placed her hand on his arm. 

At her touch, Daniel turned to face her. "Yes, Buffy?"

"Daniel, would you care to shower with me?" she asked, so that there would be no ambiguity or subtext in what she was after.

Daniel blushed at her forthright invitation but answered in the affirmative with a nod. He then leaned down and kissed her. 

They quickly gathered up their stuff and soon were on their way out the door. "Buffy, can I meet you at your quarters? I need to pick up clean clothes from my quarters. Or do you want to come to mine? You could go grab clothes from yours and meet me there..."

Buffy silenced him by placing a finger over his lips. "Shh. I get it. You can come to my quarters in a few minutes." She reached up and gave him another quick kiss on the lips before heading to her quarters.

Once there she picked up the clothes that were again littering the furniture and placed it all in pile. Next she took the swords from where she had set them down on one of the chairs and hung them in their proper place on the walls. When she looked around to see if anything else could be done to make the space more inviting, there was a knock on the door. She ran over and opened it.

Daniel entered and quickly shut the door. He crossed to one of the chairs and set down the small pack he had been carrying. It was the kind he took on missions with him so that if anyone had asked he could say he had been going through it and needed a few things from the supply closet. It was a nice excuse.

"So," Buffy said, finally breaking the silence. "I think I could really use that shower. How about you?"

"Uh, yes. I could use a shower," Daniel muttered.

"Look Daniel, if this is too much too soon, I'll take a quick shower than you can take one afterwards and we could just talk," Buffy offered.

That spurred Daniel into action. "No, this is fine. More than fine, in fact." He moved over to he and took a hold of her shoulders gently. Then he leaned down and kissed her while working her shirt up her back until it was almost off. He only broke the kiss long enough to remove the shirt completely, along with her bra.

"Umm. That's more like it," Buffy said against his lips as she worked on removing his shirt.

Daniel slowly backed towards her bathroom while keeping his hands busy trying to undo her pants. This was complicated by the fact that neither was really willing to break the kiss. Buffy's hands were also battling to unfasten his pants as well. They made it just inside the bathroom before the precarious nature of their position sent them toppling into a heap on the floor.

Buffy landed on top, knocking the air out of Daniel. She took advantage of her position to finish undoing his pants and started to pull them off with a little help from him, but soon ran into the problem of his boots. Buffy quickly dispatched those along with his socks. Then she fished with his pants.

"Ooh. That's cold," he said when he regained his breath and his skin hit the cold tile. She stood up again and gave him a hand up. As soon as he was standing, his hands went back to removing her pants.

* * *

An hour or so later, they emerged from the steamy bathroom. Each was wearing nothing but a towel. Buffy had a second towel around her hair.

"Care for a cup of decaf?" Buffy asked as she removed the towel from her hair and ran a hand through the wet locks. 

"Sure," Daniel said as he went over to his pack. He pulled out a pair of flannel pajama pants and a grey tee shirt. He also had the blue base uniform that was on rotation for tomorrow, well technically later today, in there but wasn't ready to dress in those just yet.

Buffy started the coffee before going to her dresser and pulling out an oversized sleeping tee shirt that said 'Bite Me' in large red letters.

"So, Daniel, what do we have here?" Buffy asked once she was covered. She turned to face him to find that he was likewise clothed again.

"Wha- What do you mean?" Daniel asked as he gave her a confused look.

"Are we in a relationship? Are we just fucking? Or are we friends with benefits?" Buffy asked. "One night I could accept as a fluke, but since this is the second night in a row this is obviously something."

"I'm not sure, but we aren't just fucking. That is for damn sure. I don't do that. I would hope you know that by now," Daniel answered, a little irritated at the implication.

"I know that, but I had to ask. I once made the mistake of believing I had something more with a guy when all it was for him was just sex," Buffy defended herself.

Daniel's face softened at her explanation. "What happened?" he asked. He didn't really want to hear her whole sexual history, but he didn't want to accidentally do anything that would remind her of her bad experiences, either.

"Parker was in my psychology class. He fed me some lines that made me feel special. We slept together. The next morning, it was revealed that the sensitivity he had displayed was all an act to seduce as many freshmen women as possible. I was just another notch on his bedpost. He added to my list of romantic screw-ups, so I like to have things in the open," Buffy explained as she fixed the coffee, which had finished brewing as she talked.

Daniel walked over to her, removed the mug from her hands, and wrapped his arms around her. He whispered in her ear, "I promise you what ever else we have, I am not just using you for sex. I don't do that."

She turned in his arms to look him in the eyes. "Thank you. I needed to hear that." She then placed a hand along side his jaw and kissed him. The physical fire sprang so brightly between them again, that they wound up in bed.

When they lay spent sometime later, Buffy curled up to his side. Her ear was close enough to his heart that she was lulled to sleep by its steady beat. Daniel lay next to her with his arm around Buffy's shoulder. He gently stroked her arm with his hand until he too fell into contented sleep.

Hours later the klaxons sounded, signaling an unauthorized off world activation. The sound woke them both instantly. Daniel scrambled out of bed almost immediately, moving swiftly for his pack. He got his uniform out and was fully dressed by the time Buffy had her underwear and uniform tee shirt on.

"How do you do that?" she asked as he was tying his boots, while she was still pulling on her pants.

"Almost a decade of practice," he answered. Then he picked up his discarded clothes from the night before and packed them away. When he finished, Buffy was tying her boots.

He picked up the pack and waited for her to join him. Then he dropped a quick kiss on her lips before leading the way out the door.


	8. Monkey Fight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Buffy and Daniel have a field trip in the wilds of nighttime Colorado Springs. Set after "Ethon" 9.15.

"So is this really what you did every night in high school?" Daniel asked as he and Buffy sat on a marble bench someone had ordered as a memorial for their lost loved one.

"You mean hang out in cemeteries with hot guys? Pretty much," she replied.

After the tragic events of the last week, Buffy decided Daniel had had enough training. It was time to take him on patrol. Fortunately, a new vampire had moved into town and had started making fledges while she was off world. It meant there was actually something to fight.

Daniel had gotten almost giddy at the idea actually going out on patrol. He had probably been high on stress, lack of sleep, and too much caffeine. Buffy didn't think he was being disrespectful of those that died at Tegalus. He just had to have something to look forward to or he'd break. 

She had had that response often enough in her years as slayer. She indulged him with the Ninja look and helped him strap on a real sword, live steel instead of the practice wooden ones they had been using. It was rather funny to see Daniel being all Ninja like.

Buffy stood and surveyed the cemetery. She spied movement to the southwest. "Daniel, over there," she pointed.

Daniel followed her. Both had swords drawn as they moved silently in the direction she had indicated. Buffy sneaked up on the man who had been moving. She got behind him and had her sword at his throat when Daniel suddenly recognized him.

"Jack?" Daniel asked.

"Daniel?" Jack answered.

"Jack!"

"Daniel!"

"Daniel, do you know this man?" Buffy asked.

"Um. Yes. Buffy, release him," Daniel said. "You remember Major General Jack O'Neill?" 

"Umm, yes." Buffy moved in front of the man and now that she saw his face she knew him. She didn't have to wonder if he might be a vampire since she had seen him alive and well that afternoon at Colonel Pendergast's memorial. "Sorry, sir. I saw movement in the cemetery at one in the morning and thought..."

"I might be one of those things you hunt?" Jack supplied.

"Yes," Buffy answered.

Now that he didn't have a sword pointed at him, Jack noticed Daniel. "Daniel, what is this? Have you gone all ninja or something?"

"Why yes, Jack. I'm a bona fide Ninja. Buffy has been teaching me how to use a sword," Daniel answered.

"I'll bet," Jack muttered

"What was that?" Daniel asked, knowing full well what his friend had been implying.

"Nothing. Just that I have been hearing rumors that you have been spending most nights when you are on world with her and that you have been spotted leaving her quarters in the morning. Very sloppy, Daniel," Jack teased.

"General or not, you won't talk to Daniel like that," Buffy said, getting in Jack's face as much as her petite frame was capable.

"Easy, Buffy. He was just teasing me. He meant nothing by it," Daniel said to get the slayer to back off. "Right Jack?"

"Definitely. I'm happy as a kid in a candy store that Danny-boy here has finally found someone," Jack said seriously. 

Daniel spotted movement at a fresh grave a row over from where they stood. He drew his sword and reached the grave as the fledgling vampire emerged from the earth. With a few swift moves, Daniel cleanly severed the vamp's head from its body. 

Daniel stood amazed as he was showered with dust. He sneezed once. Clearly the allergy medication he now took was good for everything but Vampire dust.

"Bless you," Jack said automatically as he and Buffy reached Daniel. "That was some sword fighting, Daniel."

"I had a good teacher," Daniel said as he put his arm around Buffy. She tried to dust him off but some stayed in his hair.

"Yes, you did," Jack reluctantly agreed. "Shouldn't you two be heading home? I could have sworn Hank said the mission debriefing was set for 0900 and it is already 0130."

"Right. I think that is the only fledge scheduled to rise tonight," Buffy said.

"Speaking of late hours, what are you doing here Jack?" Daniel asked.

"I had been thinking about family today after the service. I just couldn't leave town without a visit," Jack said as they walked back the way they had come. He paused at the grave they had found him in front of.

Daniel looked at the headstone. It read, "Charles Tyler O'Neill, Beloved son." 

"I'm sorry, Jack. I should have known," Daniel said as he manly thumped Jack on the back as a show of support. Turning to Buffy, he said, "Jack's right. We need to be heading home."

"All right. Nice seeing you again General," Buffy said by way of good-bye.

"It has been interesting, Miss Summers. Take care of Daniel. If not..." Jack let the threat hang in the air.

"I know. I know. If I don't I should expect some unpleasantness possibly involving a shovel," Buffy said as she looped the arm not carrying a sword around Daniel's waist.

"Daniel, I like her. Do your best to keep her," Jack ordered.

"I will. Drop by my lab before you leave town?" Daniel invited as he put his free arm around Buffy's shoulders.

"You can count on it," Jack called to their retreating backs.

* * *

"Congratulations, you got your first vamp," Buffy said as they walked back to the car. "I was impressed with how well you wielded the steel sword."

"Thanks. You could have warned me about the dust," Daniel said before sneezing again, which sent more dust raining down on Daniel. "Apparently the really good allergy meds work for everything off world as well as on world-- except vampire dust."

"You poor man," Buffy teased. "So want to go back to my place? It's closer than the mountain."

"Sure, I've been wanting to see your house. But what will Clem think?" Daniel asked.

"He'll think that your skin is stretched too tight." At Daniel's questioning look, she added, "You'll see when you meet him. If you're wondering about what he'll think about me bringing you home, he knows that I am seeing you. He has actually wanted to meet you for a while now. Don't worry, he's harmless." 

"All right, your place it is," Daniel said as they loaded the swords in to his jeep. Buffy gave him directions and five minutes later they were taking the swords inside her house. 

"Did you choose this place for its proximity to the cemetery?" Daniel joked.

"As Teal'c would say, 'Indeed.' I like to live close to my work," Buffy answered.


	9. Monkey Say

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daniel and Jack have a conversation about why exactly Daniel was in the cemetery last night with a young blond.

Daniel had gotten a fresh cup of coffee and settled down to resume his work when Jack walked into his office. It was midmorning, and Daniel knew at the first sight of his friend that he wasn't going to get any more work done before lunch. He carefully marked his place with a clean bookmark in the text he was reading and saved his document on the computer, then closed it so he wouldn't accidentally delete it while rescuing artifacts from the hands of Jack.

"So tell me Daniel, just how long have you been banging Blondie?" Jack asked as soon as he finished settling on one of the stools by the central counter in Daniel's lab.

"Wha-- What ?!" Daniel exclaimed, not really surprised by the question, just the rudeness of the phrasing.

"You heard me. How long have you been sleeping with Buffy?" Jack restated the question. "Yes, I know her name, I was in charge around here when she got here."

"I've been dating Buffy for about a month, not that it is any of your business," Daniel answered disgruntledly.

"I talked to Carter and she said you haven't exactly taken Buffy on any dates," Jack responded. "Carter also said that you haven't told anyone about your relationship, but that rumors have been flying that you have been seen leaving Buffy's quarters really early in the morning and she yours. So are you dating, or...?" Jack threw his hands up in a questioning gesture.

Daniel stopped and stared at Jack. For the first time since Ke'ra, Jack had a valid point about Daniel's love life. It was true. He wasn't really dating Buffy, just sleeping with her, though they were still really good friends. He vowed to himself, then and there, that at the next opportunity he'd take her on a proper date.

"It started with Ninja lessons...." Daniel started, but Jack interrupted.

"I knew it! You were playing Ninja last night," his friend crowed.

"Do you want to hear this or not?" Daniel snapped.

"Oh, I want to hear it. Carry on," Jack responded.

"Buffy came in here and saw the swords and asked if I knew how to use them, and I said no," Daniel explained. "So she started teaching me how to use them. This was after the business with Khalek-- I assume you got a report on that mess?"

"Yes. I read that report." 

Daniel made a face of surprise. 

“Don’t be so surprised. My job consists largely of reports, and I pay close attention to the ones coming out of the Mountain, especially the ones involving SG1. Anyway-- I was saddened to read how that ended." Jack got up and placed a hand on Daniel's shoulder.

"Thanks Jack. Anyway, I think Buffy knew how I was feeling and knew I needed to work some stuff out, so she taught me how to sword fight. After several weeks, it sort of spiraled out of control. Next thing I knew, I was waking up beside her almost every morning," Daniel finished.

"Do you love her?" Jack asked quietly as he resumed his seat.

"I honestly don't know. I care about her. I like her as a friend. She makes me feel things I thought I was no longer capable of feeling, but I don't think I love her. At least not like Sha're. At least not yet. Is that wrong of me?" Daniel asked as he met Jack's eyes.

"Does she make you happy?" Jack replied in a rare serious moment. "I think that if you are, and if you make her happy, that's all that matters. For now at least. Daniel, there is such a thing as ruining a good thing by over thinking it. If you're both happy, don't foul it up. God knows after all you've been through in the last eight years, you deserve some happiness. So, what was going on last night?"

"Well, apparently, Buffy thought I needed to blow off some steam over the whole Tegalus mess," Daniel said. "She had heard of some Vampires that were due to rise and saw a perfect opportunity for a field trip for my Ninja lessons. Last night was the first time I got to use live steel. It felt good to actually stop a bad guy up close and personal after all the fighting and making no headway in the war against the Ori."

"Well, I guess I don't have to worry too much about you," Jack said as he stood up. "Want to go get some cake?"

"Sure," Daniel said, as he too stood and followed Jack out of the lab.


	10. Monkey Bets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daniel and Buffy have another heart to heart. Set just before "Off the Grid" 9.16.

Daniel lay contented in his bed in his house. Buffy lay naked in his arms. He could definitely get used to this-- which reminded him of the conversation he had had with Jack the day before.

"Buffy, do you have plans Friday night?" Daniel asked.

"You know I don't," Buffy answered. "Wait, are you actually asking me on a date?"

"I guess I am," Daniel replied.

"What brought that on?" Buffy inquired, sounding puzzled.

"I was talking with Jack yesterday," Daniel explained. "He had apparently been asking Sam about us, and she told him that while we haven't gone out on any dates or officially announced that we were a couple, we have been spotted leaving each other's quarters. Apparently the rumor mill is running rampant."

"I know," Buffy agreed. "I've been confronted by several of the nurses to see if it is true that we're sleeping together. I told them yes, and have been treated to a few juvenile displays of jealousy." 

"What?!" Daniel exclaimed. "Why didn't you tell me? I would have dealt with them."

"Don't worry, Daniel. I dealt with them," Buffy laughed. "After a few days, they got the message and stopped. What I get is mostly congratulations these days."

"Congratulations for what?" Daniel asked, intrigued.

"At finally being the one who managed to drag you out of the lab and into the bedroom. Apparently there have been bets and dares on who could get you. " Buffy said, teasingly.

"What?" 

"Daniel, every unmarried female on the base, Lt. Col. Carter excluded-- although I wouldn't be surprised if she had thought about it at one time or another-- has been trying to capture your attention since Sha're died, if not before," Buffy answered. "I'm rather envied, it seems."

"I had no idea," Daniel said, bewildered.

"Daniel, that would be why there were the bets and dares," Buffy said as she kissed his bare chest. 

Daniel was stunned, but suddenly some of the more obvious attempts at flirting by the ladies on the base made more sense. "So what was the pot in the base betting pool?"

"Well, besides the $1000, there were a bunch of things like the parking space next to the General's, a month's worth of my favorite dishes in the mess hall, and a private room in the infirmary next time I'm unlucky enough to land there over night. That is just for getting you in my bed. You should see what is in the pot for the lady that actually manages to get you to marry her," Buffy nuzzled his neck as she answered. 

"Wow. Don't the ladies on base have anything better to do than worry about my love life?" Daniel asked, dazedly.

"That's the point, you didn't have one," she replied. "You are one of the most handsome men on the base. And you have been widowed for years. Each of the ladies wanted a chance to be the one to comfort you. You were, and are, very attractive to the female of the species." Buffy breathed the last sentence in his ear just before she licked it.

"That tickles." He laughed as he ran his hands up and down her bare back.

An hour or so later, Daniel turned on his side and looked at her. Buffy was asleep, looking all peaceful and content. 

He was happy with her. He cared about her, but he was sure now that he didn't love her. Oh sure, he lusted after her-- and in a way, that was a gift. He hadn't felt that emotion very often since Sha're. Yes, he had felt desire for both Kier'a and Vala, but he could trust neither with his life let alone his heart. Buffy he trusted with his life, but his heart wasn't actually completely engaged. At least not yet. 

He had to talk to Buffy, but not now. Now, he was going to sleep and be content.


	11. Monkey Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daniel and Buffy have another heart to heart. Set just after "Off the Grid" 9.16.

Buffy walked into the infirmary just in time to see Daniel buttoning up his blue base uniform shirt. She concluded that he must have passed his post mission physical despite the gash on his cheek. She was relieved to see him whole and relatively unharmed.

"You don't look that bad," Buffy said by way of a greeting.

"Thanks, but I fear I'll have a nasty bruise on my face in the next day or so." Daniel said as he got up and walked to her side. When he reached her, he put and arm around her shoulder. Buffy looked at him in surprise before smiling. 

"So how about we go to my lab and talk," he suggested.

"Sounds good to me," Buffy agreed. She fell into step beside him, for he had unconsciously shortened his stride just a little to match hers.

A few minutes later they reached their destination. Daniel automatically made coffee. It was what he did first thing on entering his lab-- well, second, following turning on the lights.

While Daniel busied himself with the coffee, Buffy cleared a spot for herself on one of the stools at the central counter. Once coffee had been placed before her, she knew he was ready to talk. This talk had been delayed for a few days due to an unexpected mission that had cropped up for SG1.

"So Daniel, why the public display of affection all of a sudden?" Buffy inquired.

"What do you mean?" he responded.

"I mean, why did you walk down the halls of the SGC with your arm around me in broad daylight. Not that it is actually daylight, but that isn't the point. It is three in the afternoon, not three in the morning. Plenty of people saw us," Buffy explained.

"I guess I thought the time was right to let the busybodies on base know that you mean something to me," Daniel answered. "Just what that something is, I don't know, but I didn't want any more rumors circulating that I was ashamed of you. This is the first time we've both been on base since I found out about all the gossip and wanted to put it to rest." 

Daniel walked over to her and gently kissed her. She tasted like coffee, which was hardly a surprise, but seemed so very Buffy. She returned the brief kiss.

"MMmm. Welcome home, Dr. Jackson," Buffy said when they broke apart. "I know it was only a few days, but I missed you."

"I missed you too," Daniel said, then took a drink of his coffee. "Make any plans for tonight while I was gone?"

"Nope. Other than a patrol at midnight to get the last of the fledgling vampires scheduled to rise, I am completely plan free," Buffy babbled.

"Then would you like to go to dinner with me? It's too late for me to get reservations anywhere, but I'm sure we could go to Olive Garden or something," Daniel suggested.

"Sounds good to me. What time?" Buffy asked.

"How about 7? I know it is a popular time but it will give us both time to get cleaned up after work. I'll pick up at your house at 6:45," Daniel replied.

"It's a date," Buffy agreed. "So how was the mission?"

"You know. We came. We tagged some gates. We got in trouble. Sam rigged the DHD to dial out. We dialed home. Routine stuff," Daniel said.

Buffy looked at the clock and noted the time. "Oops. Gotta go. I have a sparring session with some Marines in five minutes." 

Daniel walked over to her and kissed her. "Don't go all out with them. They're fragile."

"Don't worry, they will be whimpering but otherwise fine when I'm done with them," Buffy said, then walked out of the room.

At exactly 6:45 that evening, Daniel walked up to Buffy's door and rang the bell. He was dressed in a dark gray suit with a light gray striped shirt and a pale paisley tie. He carried a bouquet of peach roses.

He had agonized over the flowers, not sure what to bring, but believing she deserved something. Red roses carried too much meaning about deep and passionate love, and while he was sure about the passion he wasn't about the love. White roses were all about the purity of love, and that was something he didn't think either of them felt just then. Yellow roses were for friends, and while he considered Buffy a friend she was so much more. Peach roses had no such sentiments attached to them, so that was what he had chosen in the end.

Clem answered the door. Or at least Daniel assumed it was Clem. 

"Come on in. You must be Daniel. Buffy will be down in a minute," Clem babbled as he led the way to the sitting room.

"Yeah. I'm Daniel. Daniel Jackson. You must be Clem," Daniel greeted the being as he extended his hand. He took in the demon, who had gray wrinkly skin but a friendly nature. Clem was dressed in jeans and a Hawaiian shirt and oddly looked like he fit in to the house. The sitting room had the same Medieval meets Modern décor that Buffy's quarters on base had. It also had a similar collection of crosses and weapons. Oddly it was all very Buffy.

Daniel searched for a topic that he could discuss with Clem, but was saved when Buffy chose that moment to make her appearance. She was wearing a short red leather skirt and a white button down the front dress shirt. Her feet were clad in black leather boots with four-inch spike heels. The boots came up to mid calf. She was carrying a black leather coat over her arms.

Daniel stood up but his mouth was hanging slightly open. He hadn't seen Buffy in civvies that many times but she had never before shown a penchant for leather. 

"Wow. Buffy. You look fantastic," Daniel said as he moved to kiss her cheek. "Here, these are for you." Daniel thrust the flowers to her.

Buffy looked down at the flowers and burst out crying. Daniel looked at her bewildered, then put his arms around her. "Shh. It's okay, I can throw the flowers out."

That snapped Buffy out of it. "You'd better not. I love them."

"Then what's the problem?" Daniel asked, puzzled as to why, if she liked the flowers, she was crying.

"No one has ever brought me flowers before. I heard that after Mom died Spike had brought flowers by with no note, but my well-meaning friends bullied him in to throwing them away. But that is the only time, except for the dead roses that Angelus sent as a taunt to me. I am deeply touched," Buffy said as she wiped away the tears. Daniel handed her a clean white linen handkerchief. She then turned to Clem, "Could you put these in a vase for me and place it here on the entry table?"

"Sure," Clem answered as he took the flowers. "You two had better get going."

Daniel extended his arm to Buffy and she took it. Together they exited the house. 

Once they settled in his Jeep, Daniel asked the question on his mind. "No one else has ever brought you flowers? Really?"

"Really. Angel and Spike probably would have eventually, but I think the fight against evil drove the old fashioned manners they had been raised with out of their minds. Angel had been born Liam, an eighteenth century Irish cloth merchant's son, and Spike used to be William, a nineteenth century minor nobleman's son. Both were inclined to old fashioned behavior. Riley was a military man masquerading as a college student. The Immortal was some what jaded. I think it just didn't occur to him. So yeah. No flowers for Buffy," she explained.

Daniel was stunned, but said nothing as they pulled into the nearly full parking lot. He waited until they were seated at a table in the back of the busy restaurant. After they ordered and their wine had arrived, Daniel returned the conversation to Buffy's past.

"Not to harp on the subject, but you should have had someone bring you flowers long before this. If I ever run into this Immortal or Riley, they will be getting a piece of my mind. As would Angel and Spike. None of them treated you as you deserved. Not that I have either," Daniel admitted. "But that is going to change."

Buffy looked at him with watery eyes and said softly, “You're doing pretty good."

"Not good enough," he said. "We've been together for a couple weeks and this is the first I've actually taken you out. That just isn't right."

Buffy reached over and put her hand on his. "This is more than all right. Daniel, don't worry about it. I have never expected to have a normal relationship. The slaying gig kind of prevents that. Not to mention the whole SGC thing. So don't worry I don't expect a lot of hearts and flowers and stuff. I do expect you to be there for me no matter what. Other than that I don't need much."

"You've got my word to be there for you. No matter what," Daniel agreed solemnly. "But that still doesn't mean that I don't feel guilty for not being a conventional boyfriend." Daniel paused before quietly adding, "Not that I was ever good at being one."

"What do you mean?" Buffy asked, curious about his past. She knew some of it from reading his basic file when she was recruited to the SGC, but by and large he was still a mystery. Yes, he had told her a lot about his years at the SGC, but before that she didn't know much about his life.

The salads and bread sticks had arrived, so they busied themselves with getting food. Daniel was grateful that he had been given a reprieve for a while before answering Buffy's question.

Once the salad had been dished out, he answered, "I’ve had two major relationships in my life, and both ended spectacularly."

"So you've mentioned. I think I have had as disastrous relationships too," Buffy said.

"What I meant is I'd like to try to break that cycle with you," Daniel admitted sheepishly. "But I know it won't be easy. I just don't know what you expect from me."

Buffy paused in eating her salad and placed her hand on his. “My relationships have never been normal so I don't know what to expect either. I just know that I enjoy being with you. You treat me like an equal and some one you respect. I like that. I like that a lot. So all I can say is, keep going like you have and we'll see where this goes."

Daniel perked up to find out that she didn't have many expectations from him. "I think I can handle that. Just as long as you tell me if you need something more from me later."

"It's a deal," Buffy agreed with a smile. They turned their attention back to their food and the conversation back to their day, or at least the version they could talk about in a public place, and people they knew. It was an enjoyable meal for both as they relaxed, knowing their relationship might not be normal but that it did work for them.


	12. Monkey Baby

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Buffy has some news for Daniel. Set just after "The Scourge" 9.17.

Buffy sat staring at Dr. Carolyn Lam. She could not believe what the good doctor had told her. This could not be happening to her. 

...Well, yeah, actually it could. She knew it was physically possible, but somehow she had thought Slayers didn't have this happen to them. She should have remembered that it had happened before. Robin Wood was proof that Slayers could get pregnant. The real reason there weren't more children born to Slayers was probably that they died too young, before they had a chance to reproduce. Buffy briefly wondered if this was going to be more common now that there were hundreds of Slayers in the world. She'd have to call Willow. Only, she'd wait until she was used to the idea of being an unwed mother. 

Oh gawd, Buffy thought. She'd have to tell Daniel. And Col. Dixon. And General Landry. There was no way she was joining SG-1, now. Ever. She'd probably be stuck on world for the next eight months. Oh boy.

"Buffy," Carolyn said softly as she reached for the Slayer's shoulder. "Can I get you something? Or someone?"

"Uh, no. To both. I'll be fine. Once this sinks in," Buffy weakly tried to reassure the doctor.

"There are options if you want to discuss them," Carolyn brought up cautiously, because she had to mention them.

"No. I'm keeping it. I have spent too much of my life fighting so others could live; I will not abort a child just to make my life easier." Buffy spoke emphatically, not knowing that was how she felt until she said the words.

"Uhhmm," came a male voice from the doorway. "Did I just hear the words 'abort' and 'child'?" Daniel asked as he walked over to his girlfriend, looking shocked.

Buffy looked up into blue eyes that were stormy with an emotion that she couldn't define. "Yes, you did. If you had been listening you would have heard the words 'will not' as well."

The meaning of what Buffy was trying to tell him sank in. "Good." He noticed Dr. Lam then. "So Doc, are you done with Buffy? Because she and I need to talk."

"Yes, Buffy can go for now, as long as she comes back to talk to me sometime later this afternoon. I'll get a prescription of prenatal vitamins ready for her." Dr. Lam smiled at the idea that for once she would be helping to bring a life into the world rather than trying to patch someone back together. "But, Dr. Jackson, I'm not finished with you. I assume you just got back from off world?"

"I did indeed," Daniel answered, knowing his conversation with Buffy was going to be delayed a bit. "We were beamed to the Odyssey first, though. I've had the post mission check up there. In fact, I was bringing the files from the shipboard doctor to you." He handed over the files he had been carrying.

"Okay. I'll let you both go," Dr. Lam said with a smile.

Daniel took Buffy's hand and led her to the surface. They found a convenient rock to sit on and watched the sunset in peace for a few minutes.

"Daniel, that wasn't the way I wanted you to find out," Buffy said, hesitantly. "In fact, I had just found out myself. If you had come into the infirmary five minutes earlier you would have learned about the baby the same time I did."

"I had hoped you hadn't been keeping this from me for long," Daniel said as he reached for her hand. "So, how would you have told me?"

"I don't know. I hadn't had a chance to think about it yet when you walked in," Buffy replied as she leaned her head on his shoulder. "Are you happy about it?"

"I don't know. I have always wanted a child, but had I figured it wasn't meant to be after Sha're and I didn't have one," Daniel confessed. "Not to mention the fact that I don't really have much of an example to follow in being a Dad."

"I think you will be a great Dad. I just hope I can be as good of a Mom as my Mom was," Buffy said. "There were a couple years where I thought she was horrible, but that was because she didn't know about the Slaying. Once she did and got used to it, she was amazing. She practically mothered all of the Scoobies. Heck, she even mothered Spike before he got the chip in his head. Apparently, after Drusilla dumped him, he came and visited Mom and had hot cocoa with her while she listened and gave him advice. My mom, the confidant of William the Bloody!" Buffy laughed.

"She sounds like quite a woman," Daniel agreed. "She had to have been, to have such a fine daughter. And I'm not just talking about looks."

Daniel's arm went around her shoulders then. She smiled, feeling that they just might be able to do this parenting thing if they did it together. For the first time since she'd been given the news an hour ago, she wasn't panicking.

They sat there for a while lost in thought, each trying to come to terms with the way their lives were going to change. Finally, the sun set and they were left in twilight.

"Buffy, maybe you should move in with me?" Daniel suggested.

Buffy pulled away far enough to look into his face. "Why not you moving in with me? After all, I have a larger house. Not to mention a really nice housekeeper."

"Either way," Daniel agreed.

"Daniel, I will never deny you access to your child no matter who lives where. You believe that, right?" Buffy said seriously, hoping to reassure him.

"I know that," Daniel agreed. "That wasn't why I suggested moving in together. I want to be there for you as well. Not just our child. I care for you and want to be able to show it for the next-- how far along are you?"

"Carolyn said I was about six weeks along. I'm due in the middle of October," Buffy informed him.

"I'll be there even if I have to Ascend and descend again," Daniel vowed.

"Please don't Ascend. I'd rather have you alive, with your memory whole," Buffy laughed.

"I just meant, I'll do whatever it takes to be by your side no matter what," Daniel explained.

"Thanks." Buffy leaned back into him, absorbing his strength. It was one of the things she liked about being with Daniel-- she didn't have to be the strong one all the time. He let her take his strength when she needed it, but if she needed to be the strong one he let her do that too. She felt more of an equal with him than she had in any of her past relationships. She wasn't sure if she loved him-- not in the all consuming way she had loved Angel, anyway-- but she felt more at peace with Daniel. She supposed there were worse ways to feel about the father of one's child.

Daniel eased his arm from around her and stood up. He reached down and gave her a hand up saying, "Come on, I'll take you home."

"Your place or mine?" she queried.

"Mine. I don't really want to have to face Clem just yet. Not to mention he'll tell your friends..." Daniel said.

Buffy laughed as she walked with him to his jeep. "Willow really did a number on you when you talked to her last week, didn't she?"

"Yeah. There were mentions of shovels and lots and lots of pain if I hurt you. I'm pretty sure getting you pregnant might qualify," Daniel said, wincing.

Buffy looked at Daniel in surprise. "She's still using that threat?" 

Daniel nodded. 

"Don't worry," she reassured him. "After being mad at you for a bit she will get all excited about the baby. All the remaining Scoobies will. We've all had enough death and not enough new life. I'm sure they'll all like you."

They fell silent as they got in the jeep and headed down the mountain. After awhile Buffy continued, “Wills admitted to liking you after she talked with you, you know. She also saw the picture of us that Jack took before he left. The one of us sparring. While Wills bats for the other team, she admitted that in her words that you are 'a fine hunk of man flesh'. Then there is the fact that you speak more languages then she and Dawn combined. You have nothing to worry about. It's me she'll be disappointed in."

"Why would she be disappointed in you?" Daniel asked. "Wait-- she called me what?"

"Oh, you heard me. She basically called you handsome. Which is an opinion I wholeheartedly share." Buffy skipped over the serious question. 

They reached Daniel's place and settled in on the sofa before Buffy returned to Daniel's question about why Willow would be disappointed in her.

"Wills will be disappointed in me for forgetting that though rare, Slayers are women too and can get pregnant." Buffy said flatly.

"What do you mean?" Daniel asked.

"Well, very few Slayers ever made it into their late teens, let alone their twenties. Daniel, I'm 25. No other Slayer has ever reached that age. So, not too many Slayers have even had the chance to have children. Although there was this Slayer in the seventies; I actually worked for her son in Sunnydale before the collapse. But since it was so rare, I assumed that along with the super healing and high metabolism that we were pretty much sterile. That's why I never worried about birth control or condoms. Plus, I knew that with all the medical checkups we go through there was no need to worry about disease," Buffy explained.

Daniel was stunned. It happened to him every time Buffy explained some new aspect of the shortened life span she expected. He hated knowing that civilization had been saved by generations of young girls dying, and never being recognized for it.

"Wills will tell me I wasn't thinking, and that I should have known that the Shadow Men wouldn't have worried about their expendable girls being able to have babies since they weren't supposed to live very long. That's why she'll be disappointed in me," Buffy concluded. 

Daniel scooted closer to her and pulled her to him. "Enough serious thoughts for tonight. How about we order pizza and watch a couple of movies before bed?" he suggested. 

Buffy agreed. They did just that and lost themselves in the peace and joy of just being with each other for the rest of the evening.


	13. Monkey Tales

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Buffy and Daniel share their news with those in command.

Daniel looked at Buffy. She appeared nervous, so he took her hand to steady her. "You going to be ok?"

"Just peachy," she answered. "Let's just get this over and done with."

Daniel squeezed her hand and let it go as they walked into General Landry's office. The small room was crowded with both of their commanding officers as well as the General. Buffy stopped at attention and Daniel stood respectfully.

"Miss Summers, you have something you wanted to say?" General Landry prompted her. He seemed to have guessed what was coming, given that Daniel and Lt. Col. Cameron Mitchell were both in on the conversation.

Cam hadn't, however. "Um, General, if this is something Miss Summers has to say, why are Jackson and I here?" he spoke up.

"I'm sure that will be revealed in time," the General answered. "Miss Summers?"

"There is no easy way to say this. I'm sure you are all aware of the rumors surrounding Daniel and I…" Buffy began.

"If you are just going to tell us you've been dating Dr. Jackson, Summers, then that is neither a surprise nor a problem," Col. Dave Dixon chimed in. "After all, you're on my team and he is on Mitchell's."

"Yes, Colonel. I have no problem with that, as you are both civilians and on separate teams. Is that what this is about, Miss Summers?" the General asked, trying to get to the point.

"Um, no sir. That is just the background information. The real news is that, well... I'm expecting," Buffy said, the words all coming out in a rush.

"You're pregnant, Summers?" Dixon was the first to speak. "How far along?"

"Dr. Lam tells me I'm six weeks along," Buffy answered.

"Obviously, you will no longer be going through the Gate. At least until after the baby is born. As for your other duties, Miss Summers, you may continue those as long as Dr. Lam says it is all right." Landry stated, nodding to her. "Dismissed." 

The other four stood. The two military men saluted before following Buffy and Daniel out of the office.

"Well that wasn't so bad," Buffy muttered, reassured.

"Just wait until Jack finds out," Daniel replied with a wry smile.


	14. Monkey Worries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Buffy worries while Daniel is out of phase. Set just during "Arthur's Mantle" 9.18.

Buffy was just finishing up a workout with Colonel Dixon when she noticed General Hank Landry enter the gym. She continued about her business, assuming he was there for the Colonel, but when he just returned the salute and dismissed the Colonel she stopped.

"General, can I help you?" she inquired. "Have you been able to get Col. Mitchell or Col. Carter back yet?"

"We have not," the General answered. "That's actually why I'm here. I didn't want you to find out from the gossips, but Dr. Jackson has been shifted out of phase as well."

"What?" Buffy exclaimed.

"Dr. Jackson had been working with Carter to translate the Ancient on the other side, when Dr. Lee tried something and Dr. Jackson went out of phase," Landry explained. "There is some good news; Dr. Jackson is now in the same phase as the Ancient and should be able to translate it that much quicker."

"I'm sure he and Col. Carter will be able to figure it out," Buffy said, trying to reassure herself. "May I go to the lab? I know I can't do much, but I'd like to be there when this gets figured out."

"I see no reason why you couldn't," Landry said. "Come on, I'll walk you there."

Together, they left the gym and went to Dr. Lee's lab. Landry asked for a report, then reiterated his threat to Dr. Lee before leaving. Buffy stayed behind; she found a seat in a corner and just sat there. She saw Daniel's notebook open on the counter and took it to her corner. Daniel wouldn't need it; he knew Ancient off the top of his head. 

Buffy started to study the language from the notes Daniel had made, trying to distract herself. Some people complained about a lack of organizing principle to the notes, but Buffy understood how they were structured. 

After a few minutes, however, she gave up. As fascinating as the notes were, she couldn't concentrate on learning a new language right then. She set the book aside and thought about her situation. She was pregnant, and her boyfriend was currently out of phase. This could only happen to her. 

Daniel had suggested moving in together before, and Buffy had resisted the idea, but it might be a good one after all. It had occurred to her that General Landry hadn't been required to tell her about Daniel being out of phase because she had no real legal claim on him. If something worse happened to either one of them-- and, face it, with their histories it was a real possibility-- the other should have some sort of legal standing. She'd have to mention it to Daniel when he got back.

As soon as Buffy reached the decision, there was a flash in the lab; Daniel and Carter were back. Buffy waited while the General and Dr. Lee finished interrogating Daniel about what he read; then Daniel reached a hand to Buffy and they left the lab.


	15. Monkey Decisions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some decisions are made. Set just after "Arthur's Mantle" 9.18.

Buffy shifted and crawled further on top of Daniel. He was asleep and looked so peaceful. She sighed her contentment. She had come so close to losing him, again. Which reminded her, she needed to talk to him when they woke up.

Daniel felt Buffy cuddle closer to him and heard her sigh. He supposed that he should actually acknowledge that he was awake. They needed to talk.

"Buffy..." Daniel whispered. "We need to talk."

"Yes we do," Buffy answered quietly. "But not like this."

"What's wrong with this?" Daniel enquired as he tightened his arm around her. 

"I can't think with you all naked. It's too distracting," Buffy replied. She scooted out of his arms and took the sheet with her to find some clothes.

"Yeah. I guess you're right. That's how we wound up in this situation in the first place," Daniel teased her as he likewise got out of bed to find some clothes. He looked over at her and wondered when would she start to show. He couldn't wait.

A few minutes later, they were both dressed in pajama pants and tee shirts and seated at the kitchen table. Daniel had a mug of coffee in front of him, and Buffy had a mug of tea. Both were focused on their own thoughts while waiting for their beverages to cool enough to drink.

"Daniel, I was thinking while you were out of phase, that if the offer to move in together is still open I'd like to take you up on that," Buffy blurted.

"Buffy, will you marry me?" Daniel asked at the same time.

"What?!" they both exclaimed.

After a stunned pause, Daniel gestured to her. "You first," he said.

"I was thinking that if we moved in together it world be a formal acknowledgement of our relationship. That might give you some sort of standing in our child's life," Buffy explained.

"Buffy, I think in order for any legal standing to be granted, we would actually have to be married, which is why I asked you to marry me," Daniel answered.

"I figured that. I thought we could work up to that from living together. I didn't want to make assumptions about anything and make you uncomfortable," Buffy replied.

"Thank you for that," Daniel said as he moved to sit next to her and took her hand. "I think that as the mother of my child you have the right to a few assumptions. I don't think you could make me uncomfortable in this situation."

"What kind of things can I assume?" Buffy asked.

"Oh, things like-- I will offer you my name, protection, and support for as long as you want it or need it," Daniel answered.

"That's so sweet," Buffy said, launching herself into Daniel's arms. "If you were serious in your proposal, Daniel, I accept."

"I was very serious," Daniel said. "So, when do you want to get married?"

"I'll have to think about it, but sooner rather than later would be good, don't you think?" she replied. Then she yawned. "For now, though, I need some sleep"

"So do I," Daniel agreed. He put their mugs into the sink, then took her hand again and walked back to the bedroom with her.

As they settled down to sleep, Daniel put an arm around Buffy, pulled her close and smiled. He was holding his fiancée who was pregnant with their child; life was good.


	16. Strange Monkey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Buffy deals with Vala's surprising return. Set during "Crusade" 9.19.

Buffy was sitting at Daniel's desk waiting for him when Teal'c entered instead.

"Buffy Summers, are you looking for Daniel Jackson?" Teal'c intoned.

"Yes, I am Teal'c." She stared, wide-eyed, at his impassive face. His expression hadn't changed but some how Buffy got a feeling that something was wrong. "What happened to him now?"

"I believe Vala Mal Doran is inhabiting his body. I am on my way to hear what she has to say. Would you care to accompany me?" Teal'c inquired.

Buffy gaped in shock, then fumbled for something to say. "I'm not sure General Landry would appreciate me being there…"

"There is a Tau'ri phrase that I believe is appropriate here," Teal'c informed her.

"And what is that?" Buffy asked despite herself.

"You will never know unless you try," Tela'c replied.

"You're right. Let's go," Buffy agreed as she got up to leave. Teal'c followed after closing the office door behind them. 

When they reached the isolation room, Buffy paused to see if she would be welcome. Her worries on that score were groundless, however, as both General Landry and Colonel Mitchell waved her in. Buffy found a seat in the back and then tuned her attention on her fiancé. 

It looked like Daniel, but he was not acting like Daniel. It was strange; it was still Daniel’s body, but he was moving in a decidedly feminine manner. It was rather disconcerting. Buffy was momentarily relieved that the one time she had been in someone else's body it was at least another woman. 

Buffy returned her attention to what Daniel-- no, Vala-- was saying. She was asking for pancakes and ice cream. That sounded good to Buffy too, so when Landry looked around for someone to send for it Buffy volunteered. It gave her something productive to do, anyway.

She returned shortly with two plates of pancakes and ice cream. She sat one down in front of Daniel; the other she took with her to her seat. Before digging in, Buffy took another look at Daniel; he was inhaling the food with a particular relish that drove home the fact that it was definitely not him in that body. Then she was struck by a strange thought, maybe the reason Vala had wanted such a strange combination was that Vala was pregnant, too. 

Buffy's wild idea was proven true when the whole of Vala's story was revealed a little later. Buffy laughed a lot when Vala mentioned she was pregnant. This drew the attention of the others.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to laugh. It was just that it occurred to me that Vala might be pregnant too when she ordered pancakes and ice cream," Buffy explained as the others stared at her.

"Too? What do you mean, Miss Summers?" Vala asked with Daniel's voice.

"I'm pregnant with Daniel's child," Buffy answered as she stared into the familiar eyes with a different light behind them.

"Oh." Vala seemed to sink a bit before returning to answer Mitchell's question about who was the father of her own child.

Buffy was glad for the surprising answer because it allowed her to slink back into the background for the rest of the unusual visit. When Vala disappeared, Buffy like the others were sorry not to have gotten more information about the enemy, but she was also very relieved. She was relieved that she had her fiancé back.

After the others left the isolation room Buffy went up to Daniel. She reached out to him and pulled his head down and kissed him. 

"What was that for?" Daniel asked when they came up for air.

"I'm just glad you're back," Buffy replied. She looped her arm through his. "Come on, I'll tell you all about it."

"Ugh, why do I feel a bit queasy?" Daniel said, putting a hand over his stomach.

"Vala has as strange of taste in food as I do now," Buffy said with a laugh as she pulled a plastic packet with pink chewable tablets in it out of her pocket and handed to him. "Here, I keep some Pepto with me at all times these days."

Daniel gratefully took a couple tablets and, when done, asked, "What did you mean by saying she has as strange taste..." It hit him then. "She's pregnant too, isn't she?" he asked, surprised.

"Yep," Buffy answered. "And that's not all..." She proceeded to fill him in on the news.


	17. Monkey News

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Buffy and Daniel deal with Uncle Jack. Buffy's part is set during "Camelot" 9.20; Daniel's is set after "Flesh and Blood" 10.1.

Buffy really wished Daniel was in his office with her at this moment, not just because she enjoyed his company but because he really should be the one to deal with "Uncle" Jack. General Jack O'Neill had come for a briefing on the latest developments, both with the Russians and about the news Vala brought. Apparently, somewhere in the middle of it all, General Landry had mentioned that Buffy Summers was going to be assigned base duties for the next nine months. General O'Neill wasn't stupid, so he had come and found her. Now Buffy was telling the good General news that Daniel should have.

"Miss Summers, or can I call you Buffy?" Jack asked.

"Go ahead, call me Buffy," she replied.

"All right, Buffy. Why exactly did Hank tell me you would be stuck on world for the next nine months?" Jack dared her to give him a straight answer.

Buffy looked at the swords on the wall. She would wish to be elsewhere, but she didn't use the W-word anymore. Besides, whatever happened it would be much, much worse if she did. So she took a deep breath. "What do you think he meant?" She stared into the General's eyes until he looked away.

"I take it you're expecting," Jack finally answered.

"Yes," Buffy replied

"Does Daniel know?" Jack inquired.

"Yes, not that it is any of your business," Buffy said evenly. "Why would you even ask?"

"Just to make sure you hadn't broken his heart," Jack stated simply.

"The only reason you don't have a broken arm right now is because you were protecting your friend," Buffy returned.

"I'm happy for you both, but have you discussed what you are going to do about it?" Jack asked.

"I'm keeping it, if that is what you're asking General. Daniel also asked me to marry him, and I said yes. We haven't really had a chance to figure out how or when, but it will be soon." Buffy was uncomfortable telling such personal things to the man ultimately in charge of her job, but then again he was Daniel's best friend so he was entitled to the same information she had told Willow last night. 

Jack nodded, his expression inscrutable. All he said, though, was, "I'd better get an invite," as he picked up his hat from the counter. 

"You will," Buffy smiled.

"Now I have to get back to D.C. A mountain of paperwork awaits me, including some about you and Daniel," Jack said as left.

All in all, Buffy was relieved that the conversation had gone well. She would have to be sure to warn Daniel when he got back that Jack was going to grill him. But that was Daniel's problem, and Buffy had a training session to get to.

* * *

Daniel knew he was in for a grilling without Buffy having to say a word when he saw Jack with the others who greeted the Odyssey. Daniel had been able to tell from the sidelong glances that Jack was giving Buffy that Jack knew about the baby. He had successfully put the conversation off until after the official briefing, but now he was alone in his office. He knew that Jack wouldn't be long in finding him. He had no sooner finished the thought than Jack entered the office.

"So I guess congratulations are in order," Jack started as he settled in for a long chat.

"Thanks," Daniel accepted with resignation. "Go ahead and say it."

"You got Buffy knocked up, and now you're marrying her. Isn't that backwards?" Jack asked.

"According to the prevailing social mores and norms yes, but we didn't plan it. It just sort of happened," Daniel answered. He noticed that Jack was about to say something more but he forestalled him. "I know, I'm getting married because of an accident again. But I want to marry Buffy."

"But last time we spoke, you weren't sure of your feelings for her," Jack mentioned. "Has that changed? Not that I really want to talk feelings and things. But I just want you to find some happiness."

"I know, Jack. I appreciate it. My feelings," Daniel smiled, amused at Jack's feigned twitching at those words. "My feelings have grown since we last spoke. It is nowhere near what I felt for Sha're, but Buffy makes me happy."

"Is it Buffy or the coming child that makes you happy?" Jack asked. "Because if it is just the child..."

"It isn't just the baby. Buffy's had me smiling and laughing more than I had in all the time since Abydos. Rest assured that I do have feelings for her," Daniel said evenly.

"Good. Now how about that wedding?" Jack asked.

"We were thinking Vegas sometime between missions, really soon. We'll let you know," Daniel answered. "We still have to get her friends there too, so we'll need at least a week free."

"Sounds like a plan," Jack concluded. "How about some cake before I leave?"

"Sure." Daniel replied as he followed Jack out of the office.


	18. Monkey Wed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daniel and Buffy get married. This is set after "Morpheus" 10.2. (And as a personal note, also dedicated to my husband, to whom I said "I do" ten years ago on August 16, 1997.)

Buffy was nervous. She hadn't seen Willow, Dawn, Xander, Faith, and Giles in six months and now she was waiting for them to be beamed on board the Odyssey. She had been surprised when Daniel had told her that they had permission to get married on the Odyssey, and that her friends would be able to join them. The only answer Daniel would give as to how they had got permission was that Jack said it was owed to him. 

So here she was, dressed in white, waiting for her friends.

A flash of light, and in beamed the Scoobies. Giles and Xander were wearing snazzy dark suits with light shirts and ties. Xander appeared uncomfortable until he saw Buffy, then he ran over and hugged her. Giles walked more sedately over and did the same. The girls, who had been looking around the ship, then joined the group hug.

Daniel walked into the room and stopped. He looked at the mass of crying and laughing people, and knew these must be Buffy's friends.

"Hmm," Daniel cleared his throat. The group disbanded and looked towards the doorway.

"You must be Daniel." Willow was the first to recover. 

"I am," Daniel replied. "And I think you're Willow?"

"I am, but don't you know it's bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the wedding?" Willow informed him. "So, shoo!" She ushered him out of the room.

"Damn, B! I totally see why you went for him," Faith said enthusiastically.

"Yeah, Buffy. But I don't care what he looks like if he hurts you, I'll let Willow go after him with a shovel," Dawn agreed.

"He won't hurt me. Daniel is the kindest man you'll ever meet," Buffy replied.

"I don't understand why the wedding had to be so soon," Giles commented.

"Well, for one thing, we are in the middle of a war and both of us have died several times and might again. Then there is the fact that I'm expecting a little Jackson." Buffy looked at Willow. “You didn't tell him about that?"

"Not really something I wanted to share," Willow shrugged.

"So, Giles, will you give me away?" Buffy asked.

Giles almost teared up but managed to say, "I would be honored."

An hour later, Buffy was Mrs. Daniel Jackson. The Scoobies and General O'Neill were beamed back to the planet. The Odyssey was on its way to the Pegasus Galaxy.

Buffy and Daniel were in their quarters. 

"Buffy, did I tell you, you look beautiful today?" Daniel asked to break the silence.

Buffy blushed. "No you didn't," she answered as she turned her back to him. "Can you undo the zipper?"

Daniel took a step toward her and helped her out of the simple mid-calf silk sheath dress Buffy had chosen for their simple ceremony. It really had been an interesting ceremony with Colonel Paul Emerson officiating, as he was the commander of the Odyssey, General O'Neill as best man and Dawn as maid of honor. It had been short and traditional. Now here they were husband and wife and Daniel was nervous around her.

Buffy kept her back turned and changed into an oversized shirt to sleep in. Daniel took the opportunity to get out of his suit and into his own pajamas. Soon they were lying side by side in bed. Neither really knew what to do now. Did one ceremony really make that much difference? Obviously it did.

"Night, Mrs. Jackson," Daniel whispered in Buffy's hair as he pulled her tight against her side.

Buffy smiled as she pillowed her head on his shoulder. "I love you, Dr. Jackson," She whispered back.

Daniel was startled. "What did you say?"

"I said, I love you, Daniel," Buffy repeated. "I really do. It took me a while to realize that it was love, but I really do." 

Daniel looked as is if he was about to speak, so Buffy put a finger across his lips, leaned up on her elbows to look in his eyes in the dim light, and spoke. "Daniel, don't say anything. I had to tell you. What I feel isn't like what I felt for Angel, but it is love and I thought you ought to know." 

Buffy went back to lying on top of him and fell asleep before he could gather his thoughts. Daniel wanted to say something but he wasn't sure he could say the words back yet. However, as he lay there listening to her soft breathing, he was sure that the day when he could honestly return the sentiment was coming. And soon.


	19. Monkey Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daniel and Buffy settle in.

Daniel woke to a sight that was becoming more and more familiar-- a blonde head cushioned on his shoulder. And not only was it familiar, but it felt right. The only difference today was the ring on the hand placed on his chest beside the blonde head. On the ring finger, next to the cabochon ruby and white gold engagement ring he had given Buffy just over a month before, was a white gold wedding band. He smiled as he felt the weight of a matching ring on his own finger. It would take some getting used to, but he was proud to wear the evidence of the claim Buffy had on him.

Daniel gently brushed hair off her face with his free hand. Buffy must have been really tired, he thought, because she did not wake, just snuggle deeper into his embrace. That was fine with him, because he had some thinking to do. Last night Buffy had said she loved him. Daniel knew she deserved to hear the words back, but he just wasn't sure he could say them-- yet. He enjoyed her company both in and out of bed. It felt good to have someone who understood the unknown fight against evil and the high price that was sometimes paid. He even enjoyed her mind. Buffy was smarter than she let on. She admitted that the reason she didn't do more research was that there were others that could do it better and faster not because she couldn't do it. 

Daniel knew that the thing holding him back from telling her "I love you" wasn't Buffy or his feelings for her, but his lingering guilt about Sha're. It wasn't fair to his current wife to let the feelings left from his first wife stand in the way. He knew he shouldn't still feel guilty seven years after Sha're's death, but he did. He wasn't cheating on her by loving Buffy, but every time he thought to tell Buffy of his feelings he would see Sha're in his mind's eye and feel guilty. 

Buffy had managed to resolve her feelings, now it was Daniel's turn. He knew he would never feel the same about Buffy as he did about Sha're, but they were different women and didn't _need_ to be loved the same way.

Buffy stirred then and looked up into his eyes. Before she had a chance to say anything, Daniel leaned down and kissed her. 

"Good morning, Mrs. Jackson," he said softly as he pulled back.

"I think I could get used to waking up like that for the rest of my life," Buffy smiled as she sat up.

"Did you mean what you said last night?" Daniel inquired.

"I did," Buffy replied, "but don't worry, I don't expect to hear those words back any time soon." 

She had her back to him, apparently trying to be brave. Daniel got out of bed and crouched down in front of her. When she wouldn't meet his eyes, he gently took her chin in his hand and redirected her gaze.

"Buffy Anne Summers Jackson, I love you." Daniel said her full name to emphasize his sincerity.

"You do?" Buffy asked as if afraid to hope it was true.

"I do. Not as much or it the same way as Sha're, but it is a start." Daniel explained.

Buffy smiled and launched herself into his arms and kissed his face. "I understand completely, but it is nice to hear the words."

Daniel maneuvered her to lying down on the bed again and stretched out beside her. He leaned over so he was looking her straight in the eyes. 

"I love you." He kissed her and proceeded to prove the validity of his words.


	20. Monkey Illness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daniel and Buffy continue to settle in. This is set after "The Pegasus Project" 10.3.

Buffy walked out of the bathroom in the quarters she shared with Daniel aboard the Odyssey. She couldn't wait for their child to be born, not just because she wanted to meet the baby, but also because she was getting tired of these morning bouts of illness. Daniel had tried to help, but there was not much he could do except sit beside her, rub her back, and hand her some Sprite to wash the taste out of her mouth.

She was getting tired of it. She knew it was supposed to get better after a few months, but she hoped it would happen sooner. Buffy also knew that dealing with a wife who was sick every morning and queasy most of the rest of the time had probably not been Daniel's preferred way to spend the few days he had on Atlantis, but he had never said a word of complaint. Still, she knew he'd have rather spent those extra hours with the Ancient database rather than with her. 

Mitchell had been right, Atlantis was Daniel Disneyland. If Buffy had doubted that Daniel had meant it when he said he loved her, those doubts had been put to rest. Yes, Daniel had had a chance to do some studying the database, but not as much as she would have liked because he spent the time with her.

Buffy sat down on the bed and smiled down at her sleeping husband. It was weird to think of having a husband, but she was slowly getting used to it. Daniel sat up then and reached out to her. Buffy took her Sprite from her bedside table and sipped. When the can was empty, Buffy set it back on the table before cuddling closer to Daniel. 

She smiled as they both settled back for a few more hours of sleep.

* * *

Daniel looked down at the sleeping woman in his arms and smiled. Buffy had never looked more beautiful to him than she did now, although she would never believe it if he told her. All she would see was the growing bump in her tummy and the other parts that were thickening as her pregnancy advanced. But that was what Daniel found so damned attractive. He reaffirmed to himself his vow to be at her side, no matter what, when she went into labor. 

Daniel pulled her closer and repositioned her head to a more comfortable position. He should be up and studying some of the Ancient database he had been able to bring back with him, but Buffy hadn't been sleeping well so neither had he. It had taken him almost a decade to learn that there were more important things than knowledge. He was holding two of them in his arms at this moment. He was not saying that Buffy meant more to him than Sha're had, but he now knew what the cost of knowledge might be this time and he was determined not to screw up this chance at happiness.

He had spent much of his time on Atlantis with the database while Buffy had put Lt. Col. Sheppard and his team through difficult sparring sessions. That had been enough time apart to find a clue to save the galaxy, in Daniel's opinion, so he reasoned that he and Buffy deserved the three weeks back to Earth as a vacation. Knowing her history, Daniel thought Buffy was about due for a vacation too. It had been about eleven years since she had started her fight and she hadn't had a break, except for the few months when she had been dead. Daniel knew what that was like.

He was going to make sure they both enjoyed this time and relaxed, because when they got back the search for the Sangraal would begin in earnest and there would be no more time for rest.


	21. Monkey Wait

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Buffy waits for Daniel to return from Camelot. This is set after "Insiders" 10.4.

Buffy was getting restless and that was never good. A restless Slayer was a bored Slayer, and that meant someone or something was going to get pounded. Unfortunately there was nothing for her to slay in Colorado Springs, and General Landry had drastically reduced the number of sparring sessions with the SG teams since learning of her pregnancy, so she couldn't work out her frustrations that way.

Daniel had left to do some research in Merlin's Library on Camelot over a week ago. He'd traveled through the Stargate, and therefore Buffy couldn't travel with him. Dr. Lam had been uncertain about what could happen to the baby if Buffy went through the Gate while pregnant, so here she stayed and slowly went nuts. 

Buffy didn't know when it had happened, but somehow her life was empty without Daniel in it. She knew she was beginning to love him and had even told him so, but when had her life become incomplete if she didn't see him in any given twenty-four hour period? She had promised herself that after Angel she would never get that all romance novel heroine weak about a man, but here she was dependent on Daniel. 

Buffy glanced at the clock in Daniel's office, where she was waiting since she could almost feel his presence there. Ten more minutes until she could go wait in the control room for Daniel to return. She had been looking through some of Daniel's notebooks with out really reading them when she realized why she might be feeling like she was-- hormones from the baby. That made her feel better. A few more minutes passed; then Buffy got up and left the office after shutting and locking the door. She speed walked through the halls to just short of the control room where she slowed to make it appear that she wasn't really all that concerned. 

She had just greeted Walter when the Gate activated.

"Incoming wormhole," Walter said as the iris activated and closed. Then a code flashed on the computer screen beside him. "Receiving Dr. Jackson's IDC."

"Open it, Walter," commanded Landry as he came down the stairs from the briefing room. He paused to wave Buffy with him and continued in to the Gate Room with Buffy close on his heels.

The Iris opened and Daniel walked on to the ramp. Buffy rushed up and hugged him before Landry could say anything.

"Dr. Jackson, I expect a full briefing at 0800 tomorrow. Have Dr. Lam check you over and then you're free to leave," Landry said with a smile before leaving the couple on the ramp to themselves.

"So what do you say, Mrs. Jackson? Accompany me to the infirmary and then home?" Daniel asked as he wrapped an arm around her.

"I'd love that," Buffy answered as she laid her head on his shoulder. Buffy was no longer restless. Daniel was home and all was right in her world for the moment.


	22. Monkey Castle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Buffy joins Daniel on a quest for Arthurian Legends. This is set after "Uninvited" 10.5.

Buffy could get used to this. She was sitting on a comfortable white wicker chair in a brightly lit Solarium with a fine bone china teacup and saucer in her hand. On the matching plate was her breakfast. Just behind her stood a waiting butler, in case she needed anything else. This was much better than waiting around the SGC for Daniel to come back from his research. 

Buffy had been glad when the records at the new Council headquarters had led to Daniel being invited back to this castle to view the Earl's private archives, because that meant she got to come too and experience the life of the more than pleasantly well off. 

She finished her breakfast and tea, then went for a walk in the formal gardens. She spent a couple of hours wandering around looking at the late summer flowers. When she finally felt hungry again, she wondered back to the library to make sure Daniel ate something. She entered the room and found him bent over a mound of old books. 

Buffy walked up to him and gently massaged his shoulders.

"Hey," Daniel said as he looked up at her in surprise. "What time is it?"

"Nearly one," Buffy answered. "Time for you to take a break and eat something."

"I hadn't realized it was so late," Daniel replied, as he began placing book marks in the books he had open and shutting them. Then he gathered up his stack of notes to take with him. When he had finally finished, he stood and took Buffy's hand to lead her from the room.

"So how is it going?" Buffy inquired as they entered the Solarium together.

Buffy led him to the table she usually ate breakfast at. The sat before Daniel answered.

"I think I may have found something. If I have, then I should be done in a day or two and we can get back to the SGC," Daniel concluded.

"Oh, don't be in such a hurry. Take all the time you need," Buffy said encouragingly.

"I thought you'd be bored by now, Buffy. Yet you are encouraging me to take more time?" Daniel asked, puzzled, as lunch was served by the unobtrusive butler.

Buffy took a bite of the flakey salmon and closed her eyes in enjoyment before answering her husband. "You have got to be kidding me right? Have you tasted this food? It is incredible, so why would I want to go back to the food at the commissary? Not to mention how soft and fluffy the beds are. I'm enjoying the luxury. So take as long as you like."

Daniel tasted his food as he took in her answer. "You're right, this is better than the commissary. But Buffy, we don't have all the time in the world right now. The Ori are coming and we do need the Sangraal."

"I know. I was just enjoying the moment," Buffy replied, then sighed, her mood deflating.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart." Daniel placed a hand on hers. "I promise after we save the world again, I'll ask his Lordship if we can come back for an extended visit. There are other things in the library I'd love to study that have absolutely nothing to do with Arthur, Merlin, or Morgan Le Fay."

"You promise?" entreated Buffy.

"I promise," Daniel vowed.

Buffy liked that answer and moved to sit on his lap. Then she kissed him. The butler took a look at the scene before him and discreetly removed himself from the room. Once assured of their privacy, Buffy proceeded to show Daniel her opinion of his plan.


	23. Monkey Show

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daniel tells Buffy about an unusual day at work. This is set after "200" 10.6.

"Honey, I'm home," Daniel jokingly called as he entered the house he shared with Buffy.

Buffy came out of the living room to greet him. She flung her arms around his neck and soundly kissed him hello. "How was your day, dear?" she asked, playing along with the Cleaver stereotype since Daniel seemed to be in a good mood.

"It was rather... uh... interesting," he replied.

"Good interesting, or the I better grab the Scythe and call Cleveland kind of interesting?" Buffy inquired.

"Um, good interesting, I think," Daniel said as they sat down on the couch, then began to explain. "Did you ever catch a TV show called 'Wormhole X-treme'?"

"Are you kidding? It was only Andrew's favorite show, so of course he had to buy the DVDs and inflict it on all the rest of us. Why?" Buffy asked.

"Well, Martin Lloyd-- the producer-- was at the Mountain today to ask us to be 'creative consultants' on the 'Wormhole X-treme' movie," Daniel said, shaking his head as though he couldn't fathom why he had been asked to do such an inane thing.

"Oh, our tax dollars at work, huh?" Buffy giggled.

"You want to read the script?" Daniel asked, grinning at her. "It's not going to be filmed after all, since the series got renewed." He handed her the pages he'd brought home.

Buffy read the script and couldn't help but laugh from page one all the way through to the end. "How on earth could anyone think that would be a good movie?" she had to ask.

"I know, even Valentine made more sense than this. As Teal'c pointed out, everything in there inevitably blew up," Daniel shook his head.

"Was that all you did today? Surely there had to be something else," Buffy prompted him. "You are in a rather good mood."

"Jack showed up, and we went off world. Turns out it was Mitchell's 200th trip through the Gate, so Landry had Walter plan a party with cake and everything. I went, but came back early with Col. Dixon and SG-13."

"Hope you told Jack to come by for dinner tomorrow if he's still in town," Buffy said warmly.

"I did, and he assured me he'd be here barring an Apocalypse level disaster." Daniel smiled down into her green eyes. "How about I go change and we go out to dinner?"

"I have a better idea, Dr. Jackson," Buffy said with a come hither look. "How about we stay in?"

Daniel's answer was to raise his eyebrows in an excellent imitation of his Jaffa teammate. "Works for me," he said as he followed her to their bedroom.


	24. Monkey Hell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Buffy gets some really bad news. This is set after "The Quest, Part 1" 10.11.

'It must be Monday in a Hell dimension somewhere,' Buffy thought to herself as she entered the briefing room at Stargate Command. Seated around the table were Major General Hank Landry, Major General Jack O'Neill, Lt. Colonel Cameron Mitchell, Lt. Colonel Samantha Carter, Teal'c, and Vala Mal Doran. That was not a goods sign-- two Generals and four out of five members of SG-1.

Then she noticed the man who was entering from the control room below, it was her former commanding officer-- Colonel Dave Dixon. 

'This really can't be good,' she thought as he walked over to her and escorted her to the table. Buffy took the empty seat next to Jack, and couldn't help but wonder where the fifth member of SG-1 was.

"Ok, where's Daniel?" she asked as panic began to set in.

"Buck up, Summers. That is what this briefing is about," Dixon whispered in her ear.

"It's Jackson now, sir," Buffy returned. "And I want to know where my husband is." She leveled her gaze on Lt. Colonel Mitchell.

"I realize this isn't a standard briefing, but the lady has a right to know," Landry lent his weight to the question.

"I'm afraid Adria has him, sir," Mitchell finally said looking anywhere but at Buffy or Jack.

"What?!" exclaimed Jack.

"That's not all, sir," Carter said. "Before that, he had had all of Merlin's knowledge downloaded into his brain."

"How did that happen?" Landry asked, aghast.

"It was one of those Ancient memory storage devices that come out of the wall, sir," Carter continued, looking at Jack.

"Like those head suckers that rearranged my brain those times?" Jack asked, for clarity's sake.

"Indeed," replied Teal'c.

"That can't be good," Buffy murmured, finding her voice for the first time since they'd broken the news that her husband had gone missing.

"It's not," Jack answered, but before he could continue Vala spoke up.

"Daniel thought that this might be different, General," she said.

"How so?" Landry asked.

"He thought that the knowledge was limited. He even said that he only had some of Merlin's knowledge. He had been using it to make a new Saangral. The only problem was that he seemed to be shifting between himself and Merlin. Well, that and the telekinesis." Apparently, Vala had been the one who had spent the most time with Daniel before Adria had shown up.

"Let me get this straight, Dr. Jackson is not only in the hands of the Ori but he has the knowledge to build the weapon to destroy them?" Landry repeated, looking thunderous.

"Yes, Sir," Mitchell answered.

"How did Adria get a hold of him?" Jack asked, dragging the conversation back to the point Buffy was most interested in.

"Adria cracked the program that had been rotating us through a network of planets cut off from the rest, just after Ba'al and I managed to fix the DHD so we could dial out," Carter answered him.

"Ba'al?" Jack asked, echoing Buffy's thoughts again. "How did he get there?"

"Jack, let the Colonel explain Dr. Jackson's disappearance first, then we'll get the whole story later," Landry interrupted. "Continue, Colonel Carter."

"Adria had apparently used the obelisk to beam into the cave, because after the Ori soldiers arrived, Daniel came flying out of the cave as if thrown from a great distance. Then Adria appeared at the cave entrance. She raised her hand to shoot energy at us, but Daniel stepped between her and us and shot back, holding her energy at bay somehow. He yelled for us to get through the gate and said that he'd be right behind us, but he didn't get the chance," Carter finished sadly.

"Sounds like Daniel," Jack muttered.

"Indeed, O'Neill. Not only did he save us then, but when the soldiers first appeared lightning like I have only seen once before struck them down," Teal'c added.

"When was that, T?" Jack asked.

"At Kheb, immediately before Oma Desala took the Harcesis child from the temple," Teal'c replied.

"Daniel did that? So-- what you're saying is that while he might be in enemy hands, he is able to defend himself?" Jack asked hopefully.

"Indeed," Teal'c replied with a slight bow of the head toward his friend.

"Then Daniel will be back," Jack said with certainty.

"He'd better be," Buffy said firmly, trying not to think about the alternatives. "He promised that he'd be here when his child was born even if he had to Ascend and descend again to do it."

"Then I'm sure he will be here," Dixon assured her. He looked at the two Generals, "Sirs, is there any need for me and Summ--" At Buffy's glare, he corrected himself, "--Mrs. Jackson to stay around?"

"No, Colonel. You and Mrs. Jackson are dismissed," Landry said, compassion in his eyes as he looked at Buffy.

Dixon saluted and escorted Buffy from the room. As he did so she muttered under her breath, not caring whether he could hear her, "Definitely Monday in a Hell dimension somewhere."


	25. Monkey Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Family is redefined when Buffy needs hers around her most. This is set during "The Road Not Taken" 10.13.

Buffy took her turn in the rotation to keep the out of phase Lt. Colonel Samantha Carter company along with the still present members of SG-1. Her shift invariably came in the wee small hours of the morning, since she was a Slayer and used to being awake then. She was too pregnant to be allowed out on patrol, or so insisted both her Watcher, Rupert Giles, and her doctor, Dr. Carolyn Lam. Buffy had reluctantly agreed since she knew Daniel would agree with them that a woman eight and a half months pregnant was too pregnant to engage in life and death battles with the forces of Darkness unless she absolutely had to. So she found herself talking to what appeared to be an empty room. For all she knew it could be, but Lt. Col. Cameron Mitchell insisted that Carter was just stuck out of phase and by golly he was not going to abandon another team member.

Buffy appreciated the thought, since the team member Mitchell was referring to was her husband, Dr. Daniel Jackson. Daniel had been missing for two months since Adria, the Orici, had taken off with him. Buffy was worried but she knew Daniel would be back. He had promised, after all, and he did have an impressive record of coming back from the supposed dead in the past.

Buffy was sharing these thoughts and others with an invisible Samantha when the belly cramps started. At first she thought it was just indigestion from the peanut butter and pickle sandwich she had scarfed down earlier, but then she felt a sticky wetness between her legs. She managed to make her way over to the red phone on the wall and dial the infirmary. Once she reached the nurse on duty she gasped out where she was and that she needed help.

Help came quickly both in the form of the orderlies with a gurney and the solid presence of the alien Teal'c. He was the one who lifted her up, single handedly, and placed her on the gurney for the trip to the infirmary.

Teal'c had a resolute look on his face when Dr. Lam started to try to get him to leave. "I failed Daniel Jackson once. I will not do so again," was all he would say when pressed.

Dr. Lam finally decided there were battles worth waging and that was not one of them, so she let the Jaffa stay. He did back away and make use of the base phone when it became clear that Buffy was in labor. He stood just inside the door to the private room Buffy had been settled in. Soon his vigil was joined by Mitchell and Vala Mal Doran, the final member of SG-1.

"Buffy, is there any family you want me to call?" inquired Dr. Lam between contractions.

"Willow and Dawn, and Giles too," Buffy replied. "One call will reach them all."

"I'll call them," Mitchell said. "Don't worry." He left to go to his office and make the call.

Five minutes later there was a loud pop in the room and three people materialized. One was an older man looking very English Librarian. Another was a woman about Buffy's age with bright red hair. The last was a younger woman with brown hair. The members of SG-1 recognized the three from Buffy and Daniel's wedding six months ago. They were in order, Giles, Willow and Dawn and what family Buffy had. Dawn was her sister but Willow was almost as good as and Giles was more of a father to Buffy than the man who had contributed DNA to her.

"Hey, Wills." Buffy said as she reached out. "Dawnie, are you ready to be an aunt?"

"Absolutely," replied the brunette. "More so than Giles here is ready to be a grandfather."

Giles removed his glasses and cleaned them while saying," Oh, dear lord." Once the glasses were back in place he continued, "I'm not this child's grandfather."

"Well you're going to be the closest thing he or she has," Buffy replied. Then another contraction hit. Once it subsided she continued, "You know Mom is dead and Dad doesn't want anything to do with me. Daniel was orphaned as a boy."

"I'd be honored to be considered the child's grandfather in that case," Giles said with pent-up emotion. It was the second time that Buffy had honored him as her father figure. He was just as surprised this time as when she had asked him to give her away. But he treasured it all the same.

Mitchell returned with General Landry following behind him. A white beam of light entered the room and Major General Jack O'Neill appeared.

Dr. Lam looked at the rather large crowd that was beginning to encroach on the room. "Okay, all but immediate family out," she said. Nobody moved. 

Buffy smiled even though she could feel that another contraction was starting. This strange collection of people and aliens was her immediate family. Even Dawn, who was her sister, was technically cloned from Buffy's DNA. There was a Watcher, a Witch, and the Key on her side of the family. On Daniel's side there was an Air Force Major General, the space pirate, and the former First Prime. They both shared the other Air Force General and the Lieutenant Colonel.

"Ok, let's try this again. If you are actually related by blood you may stay. The rest of you out in the hall," Lam commanded. This time everyone but Dawn started to leave.

"Actually, I'd like Willow to stay too," Buffy gasped.

"All right but the rest of you out," Lam said as she followed Teal'c and made sure they had all left before closing the door.

Several hours later the small crowd was let back in the room. Buffy was in a fresh nightgown and holding a blue blanket wrapped bundle. She was practically beaming, as were Willow and Dawn who sat on either side and made cooing noises at the baby.

"I'd like you all to meet Jonathon Rupert Jackson," Buffy said proudly once they had all filed in. The two namesakes were manfully trying to hold back tears.

"Buffy…" Giles started to say.

"Daniel and I had discussed names but hadn't actually settled on a boy's name. We had agreed on Joyce Claire if it turned out to be a girl but we never could figure out the boy's name." Buffy explained. "But it occurred to me that neither Hank or Melburn would be good enough names for this little guy. He should be named after the men who most affect our lives. Giles, you have been more than my Watcher for the last decade," Buffy said with tears gathering in her eyes. She then looked to Jack and continued, "And Jack here has been like Daniel's older brother as well as his best friend. I can think of no two better men for my son to be named after."

"I believe Daniel Jackson would agree," Teal'c said. That seemed to silence any discussion of the name. The ladies all sniffed at the reminder that the one man who had the right to be voicing his opinion of the name was not there. Nevertheless, the gathered family was a happy one.

A few days later, Samantha rematerialized in her lab with all her equipment. After SG-1 had greeted her and then made their excuses to leave, Vala rushed back and gave her a hug.

"We really did miss you Samantha." Vala said as she put her head on the blonde's shoulder. "The family gathering wasn't complete without you. And Daniel of course."

"What 'family gathering'? What are you talking about?" Sam asked, puzzled.

"Buffy had her baby. Buffy's family came and General O'Neill showed up," Vala explained as she left the lab.

Sam wondered down to the infirmary to get some answers since Vala hadn't stayed around long enough to answer her questions. One of the nurses directed Sam to the room where Buffy was. The nurse had said Buffy had been cleared to leave yesterday except she was showing signs of severe depression.

"Hey Buffy," Sam greeted. "I hear congratulations are in order."

Buffy looked up and smiled weakly. "Thanks." 

"You want to see him," she asked after a moment.

"Sure," Sam took the baby from Buffy and cradled him tenderly to her. "So what's his name?"

"Jonathon Rupert Jackson. Teal'c says Daniel would approve."

Sam guessed what was wrong. "Daniel would have been here if he could."

"He promised even if he had to die and Ascend and retake human form he'd be here." Buffy said flatly. "I guess he's dead then."

"Not necessarily. I would say he is very much alive if he didn't show up naked to the infirmary." Sam said. Buffy looked at her questioningly. "It's how he descends. Naked."

Buffy gaped at Sam. "Naked?"

"Yep. The first time was on Vis Uban. He didn't remember his name so they called him 'Arrom' meaning 'naked one' because that was the way they had found him. The second time he descended he did so in Jack's office while Jack, Teal'c, Bray'tac and I were having a briefing. Jack had to swipe the SGC flag to give him something to cover up with so he could leave the office."

Buffy started to grin at that mental image. "As soon as he gets back, I'm going to have to tease him about flags."

"Definitely." Sam smiled. "Daniel will be back. You can count on it." Sam handed over little Jonathon to Buffy and left the room. 

Buffy gazed down at her son and said, "Your Daddy will be back. All his friends say so."


	26. Monkey Daddy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Daniel returns. Set during “The Shroud” 10.14.

Buffy had just finished changing little Jonathon’s diaper when Clem escorted Xander Harris into the nursery.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t make it earlier, Buff,” Xander said as Buffy turned around.  
“Xander!” Buffy exclaimed as she turned around to rush to him. She held her son in her arms and Xander wrapped them both in a big bear hug.

“So this is the little guy that is causing such a fuss at the Slayer Headquarters,” Xander said as he stepped back to really look at the baby.

“Yep, this is Jonathon Rupert Jackson. Want to hold him?” Buffy said proudly.

“Sure.” Xander said as Buffy handed the baby over. “Hello Jonathon. I’m your Uncle Xander.”

Buffy looked on with tears of happiness in her eyes. She had missed Xander when the others had visited, but Willow had said he had been in remote Africa and been unable to get to Colorado Springs in time.

“So how did you get here? Willow had said you were off in remote Africa,” Buffy asked when Xander handed the baby back to her.

“Willow’s message got to me once I reached Cairo with the new Slayer. When we got to London I managed to get the first flight here.” Xander explained.

“Well, I’m glad you’re here,” Before Buffy could say anything more, the phone rang. 

“Buffy here,” Buffy answered. “Yes, sir. I will be right there.”

“Something wrong?” Xander asked when she hung up.

“All General Landry would say was that they found Daniel and he’d tell me the rest when I got to the base,” Buffy replied slightly panicked. She started gathering together a diaper bag. “Can you drive us to the Base? I don’t think I can do it.”

“Sure thing,” Xander said as he followed Buffy out the door.

 

A couple hours later Buffy was alone with Daniel in the isolation room on the Odyssey. Only Daniel wasn’t himself- he was a Prior. Buffy had been warned but it was a shock to see just the same. Her husband was all pasty white and scarred. 

“Buffy,” greeted Daniel.

“Daniel,” she returned with relief when he sounded so like himself.

 

“So I guess you had the baby,” he observed.

 

“Yeah. Two weeks ago,” She answered. “I suppose I should tell you, you have a son.”

“A son,” Daniel said reverently with wonder spreading over his face.

It was that moment when Buffy realized that, no matter what Merlin and Adria had done to Daniel, he was still the man she loved. She crossed the room to him and briefly kissed him. Daniel looked up at her in surprise. Her hand grasped his bound hand.

“I named him Jonathon Rupert.”

“Thank you,” He said softly as he grasped her fingers as best he could.

“You’re welcome. I figured it would be a good name for our son to live up to,” Buffy said. “So my time is up and I have to get back to our son. I know you’re probably going to do something brave and foolish so I won’t ask you not to. I will ask that you come back. Alive. We have lots to talk about.”

“I’ll come back, alive, I promise,” Daniel vowed.

“Good,” Buffy said just before she kissed him again and walked a way to be beamed down to the base.

 

Buffy waited with Xander and Jonathon for SG1 and General O’Neill to return from sending the Sangraal to the Ori Galaxy. She couldn’t sit still. She kept pacing and sitting and fidgeting.

“I hate this part,” Buffy said.

“I know. It is hard to be the one waiting. It was the hardest part of being your friend- all the times that it was your fight. I always knew I could only go so far to help. But Buffy sometimes you just have to let the ones you love fight their own fights,” Xander said wisely.

“I know that. It’s just I’m used to being the one doing the fighting,” Buffy said as she gently bounced Jonathon, more for her own comfort than his.

Xander left to get quarters of his own so he could get some sleep leaving Buffy and Jonathon alone. Buffy put Jonathon in the crib that Jack had given Buffy as a baby gift. She lay down on the bed holding one of Daniel’s shirts to her as she quietly sobbed herself to sleep.

It was hours later, sometime in the wee small hours of the morning when Daniel slipped into his quarters. He found Buffy curled up on the bed asleep. He moved to sit beside her. He gently brushed the hair out of her eyes and kissed her forehead.

It felt good to only have himself in his mind. Daniel was happy to have Merlin gone and in complete control of his actions. Most importantly he was happy to be home with Buffy and his son. His son- that was a sobering thought.

“Hey,” Buffy said softly as she woke up. “Daniel. You’re back.” She threw herself into his arms.

“Yeah, I’m back to being me,” Daniel said as he wrapped his arms tight around her.

 

“I never doubted you would be,” Buffy lied bravely before kissing him soundly.

After reassuring her that he was indeed whole and alive, Daniel stood and walked to the crib. Buffy joined him. She wrapped her arm around his waist and leaned her head against him.

“Hello, Jonathon. I’m your Dad,” Daniel said reverently as he reached down to pick him up. But he stopped just shy of actually picking up the baby.

Buffy untangled herself from Daniel and picked up Jonathon. She brushed a kiss against the baby’s head before she handed him over to Daniel. He too, brushed a kiss against Jonathon’s head.

Buffy drank in the sight of her husband holding their son. It was so right. Daniel looking all normal and not pasty and scarred. He was gazing down at their son in awe and wonder. Buffy was as happy as she had ever been but there were words that needed saying.

Daniel must have realized it too because he placed his son back in the crib. He took Buffy’s hand and led her to sit on the bed. He sat down beside her.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t here for Jonathon’s birth. I wanted to.” Daniel started.

“I know. You couldn’t because you and Merlin had a plan,” Buffy said exasperatedly. “I get that it was important – on a saving the galaxy level.” Daniel looked disbelievingly at her. “I really do. The things I had to give up to keep the world safe makes sure I understand. But understanding does not erase the feelings of loneliness and abandonment I felt giving birth to your son without you.”

Daniel pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around her. “I know. Sorry doesn’t change anything.” Daniel stroked her back and assured her, “I’m here now.”

“Yes, you are,” Buffy said as she looked up at him. She placed a hand on his jaw, “And so normal looking.”

“There is that,” Daniel laughed. He bent down and kissed her “That reminds me, why did you kiss me when I was a Prior?”

“I was just letting you know that if you stayed like that forever, I’d still love you.” Buffy said seriously before adding as a joke. “The Prior look is actually kind of cute on you and way better than a Vamp in game face.”

Daniel looked at her and saw an under laying seriousness to the apparently glib words. He shook his head, “I should have known that after Vampires, Priors aren’t that scary- looking anyway. I was worried that if I got stuck like that you wouldn’t want to look at me again.”

“Daniel, I don’t care what you look like just as long as you’re here.” Buffy reemphasized.

“Oh I am definitely here,” Daniel said as he kissed her again. He then proceeded to show her just how present he was.


End file.
